MICK McCarthy has spoken of his delight after he was officially confirmed the next manager of Ipswich Town.

The 53-year-old former Republic of Ireland, Sunderland and Wolves boss has signed a three-and-a-half year deal at Portman Road and will be joined by Terry Connor.

McCarthy said: ”I’m obviously delighted to have been given the job as Ipswich Town manager and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“It’s a fantastic football club, with a proud tradition and history and a terrific fanbase. While the long-term ambition is to take the club back into the Premier League, it’s clear that the first priority is to get some confidence back into the team and start climbing the table.”

Town chief executive Simon Clegg added: “I am delighted to welcome Mick and Terry to Portman Road.

“We are under no illusions of the challenge ahead for this club given our position in the table but we feel we have the right manager to lead that challenge.

“Mick has a wealth of knowledge in the game and has shown that he knows how to compete successfully in the Championship in his time at both Sunderland and Wolves.

“While the first task is to guide the club away from our current position, we believe Mick has all the credentials and drive to eventually bring success back to Ipswich Town.”

The club have called a press conference for 5pm tonight.

* Join us for a special web-chat discussing the new Town boss at 1pm today on this website.

* We will also be running a live web-blog from the press conference from 5pm on this website.