Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy says there is absolutely no tension between him and owner Marcus Evans over a shoestring transfer budget.

The Blues boss has managed to transform the club from flaky relegation-battlers into spirited promotion pushers in the space of just 18 months, despite having spent barely a penny in transfer fees.

And it will once again be a case of picking up free transfers, loans and swap deals this summer as owner Evans – who has pumped millions of pounds into the club since his takeover of December 2007 – attempts to work towards a breakeven model in the face of new Financial Fair Play rules.

McCarthy has been quick to mention how differently other Championship clubs have done things in recent interviews, saying how Bournemouth ‘have spent a few quid’ and referring to Burnley’s ability to recruit Ashley Barnes in January.

Whenever asked directly about his own lack of spending power though he has always maintained that ‘he knew the gig’ when he took the job. Asked if that was still the case, he replied: “Yeah, it is. I’ve had support from Marcus. He trusts me to do my job; he supports me when we get a couple of bad results and he doesn’t get carried away when we get a couple of good results and start demanding we get in the top six. I like that level of consistency.

“I do know the gig and I’ll be doing it again. Let’s hope we can do it better than we did this year.”

So there is no tension between him and Evans over a lack of funds?

“None whatsoever, absolutely none,” he said. “I have a great relationship with him. I do understand the gig. I’m not one of those that takes the job and then tries to change it because it doesn’t suit you. You can’t just throw your toys out the pram.

“I took this job in good faith, in trust of what it was. I get well paid for doing I think I have repaid it well in the job that I’ve done. That’s with the team and with the way the club is now. I think we’re in a good place to move forwards.” He continued: “It’s always funny when you talk about ‘bargains’. People will be saying ‘oh, you haven’t got any money to spend’. I see people who went out and spent money and didn’t get as good players as we got for nothing.”

On whether there will be summer talks about his own contract, he said: “I don’t know, we’ll see. I’ve got another year to run. I’m happy here and I would like to think that Marcus and everybody else is happy with me being here. I’m seeing him in the summer and we will have a discussion about loads of things.”