The smiles are back on the faces of Ipswich Town’s managerial housemates.

Blues boss Paul Jewell and first team coach Sean McCarthy have lived together throughout their time in East Anglia, but the latter admits a disastrous start to the season didn’t always make for a happy home.

A return of 10 points from a possible 12 heading into the international break lifted the atmosphere considerably from the dark days that followed those Southampton and Peterborough thrashings though, with domestic chores, rounds of golf and tea-time chats much more relaxed affairs now.

“It works okay because he does the hovering and I do the cooking!” joked McCarthy, ahead of Saturday’s trip to his native south Wales for a Championship game against Cardiff City.

“It’s difficult at times because when you have bad results you don’t want to get too low, but you do, you can’t help it.

“Paul is the manager, we’re living together and I need to try and keep a smile on his face. I think I can pick up on what sort of mood he is in and what to say at certain times.”

McCarthy, who formed a deadly strike partnership with Jewell at Bradford during the 1990s, continued: “When I first met him over 20 years ago I just knew he was going to be a manager.

“We used to go for a beer after training and would talk football for hours. The game is in our blood and it’s all we know.

“We don’t ever stop talking about football to be honest. It’s nice to get out sometimes and take a break from it, but it’s hard to do that because the game is our lives and it’s 24/7. Whatever we try and talk about the subject always seem to come back round to football.

“We’ve got some lovely golf courses in this part of the world and have been out a couple of times, but your mind has got to be clear to try and play golf. It’s only in the last few weeks that we’ve been able to have a relaxed round. That said I don’t think Paul ever switches off.”

McCarthy, who was peppered with footballs delivered from his boss’ boot during yesterday’s interview, has been put in charge of the club’s reserve team this season. And he has confirmed that a home friendly against Arsenal has been arranged for November 1.