‘I’m not offering anybody any long-termism’ – McCarthy quizzed on targets, budget and his future

Q: You said you haven’t got a budget, but you must have an idea of the parameters that you are working within?

I’ve never had a budget. There’s this idea where there’s a pool of money where I can go and do this and that with – that’s never been the case. I’ve never had that.

It’s always been ‘have a look, find the players, see if we can do it’ and then Marcus (Evans) will then let me know whether it’s doable.

Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy has been at the club for five years but is now in the final few months of his contract. Photo: Steve Waller (Image: � Copyright Stephen Waller)

Q: So it’s just an unspoken understanding that you are working within these tight financial parameters then?

A: It’s always been that way, you ask me every time and I’ve never had any complaints about it.

I’m looking at some of the deals others are doing, good luck to them, but I’ve been doing what I’m doing for the last five years and I’ve been doing it pretty well. Hopefully I keep doing it well for the next four months”

Q: Have you stopped asking the question to Marcus now, ‘what have I got to play with?’

A: That’s never been the way I’ve asked. Of course I’m aware of what wages we want to pay and a loan deal, what that would be. I’m not just picking the phone up and going ‘any chance of doing this’. It’s far from that.

“I won’t try and start taking (Leonardo) Ulloa from Leicester on loan. That’s not going to happen and I only bring him up because someone else had mentioned him to me earlier.

“I know where we are looking, of course.”

Q: As a manager who has just turned a very decent profit on Kieffer Moore in the space of 12 months, you don’t then ask to question ‘I’ve raised that money can I go out and use it myself now?’

A: “Not in as many words, no.”

Q: So you’re just working on the assumption that you are carrying on with the same remit?

A: “Of course. I could have asked the same with a few players, really. Cressy (Aaron Cresswell) went, Murph (Daryl Murphy) went and Tyrone (Mings) went and we raised 14, 15 million or something. But I never ask that question, no.”

Q: When you get around to speaking to potential signings this month, would any of them ask you about your situation? If you’re a player looking to sign for a football club they might want to know about your contract situation and future.

A: “I’m trying to get them on loan so they are short-term deals anyway.

“That’s for them to come and play. If somebody wants to come and play, they will come and play. If they want to get out of a team where they’re not playing, they will want to come and play.

“I’m not offering anybody any long-termism, long-term deals, I’m offering them to the end of the season to come and try and help us. It’s a symbiotic deal – I’ll try and help them get back in their team and get back in their squad.

“Who knows, if they do well and we do well then we might be able to have a chat about staying on longer.

Q: Do your own players ask you about your situation? And have you had that chat with Marcus Evans? We’re into january now, so I have to ask you if you’ve given any more thought to that.

A: “No, I’m not interested in it. I’m not interested in speaking to you about it either. I’m just getting on with it and trying to get results.”

Q: It would be understandable if players in this building, who are thinking about their own contracts, are wanting to know if a change of manager is coming. They might not want to commit if they think a new manager might not fancy them further down the line.

A: That’s a lot of thoughts that. How’s about trying to beat Leeds, trying to beat Bolton, trying to get back in the top six. That’s really what I’m thinking about.

“If anyone came and asked me that I’d give them exactly the same answer – ‘get your heads down, let’s get a result on Saturday so things will look a lot brighter’.

Q: So players need to do it for themselves...

A: “Players do, come on. How many times do we see managers move on and it’s ‘the king is dead, long live the king’. Somebody comes in, results pick up, everything is great and nobody’s bothered. It’s like ‘Mick who? Quique Flores who? And Martin O’Neill who? Those are the names that come to mind because I’ve been seeing them on the television.

“It just doesn’t matter. Football seems to go on pretty seamlessly. whether a manager is here or not.”

Q: When will you speak to Marcus Evans about your future? Is that for another day? Is that a discussion that will be kept private?

“I’ve not even considered it and, if I had it would be private and I wouldn’t tell you or anybody else.

“Leeds tomorrow; that’s the only thing occupying my mind at the moment and not whatever else I do.”