Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy hailed bargain buy Martyn Waghorn after the striker’s star showing in a 4-2 home win against Nottingham Forest this afternoon.
Spearheading the attack in the absence of an injured Joe Garner, the 27-year-old was a menace throughout – scoring the crucial third after the Blues had twice been pegged back, then laying on the killer fourth for team-mate Bersant Celina.
“He epitomised the performance,” enthused McCarthy. “(He’s played all) five games in 15 days and he was a real thorn in their side. He was fabulous.”
McCarthy has previously stated that Town signed both Garner and Waghorn for a combined £1m from Rangers this summer. Asked for the breakdown of that deal, he replied: “I think Joe was three quarters of that.
“He’s clever and he’s aware. His pass to Santi (Celina) for the fourth goal is terrific. It’s on his right foot, but he didn’t lash at it and he’s put it right on a plate for him.
“I thought he was a good player, but he’s even better than I thought. Isn’t that nice to say, instead of saying ‘he’s a pile of so-and-so’ which I’ve done a few times in my career!”
The Blues boss continued: “There is no such thing as a bad win, but that one was particularly pleasing with scoring four goals and defending as well as we did in the second half.
“I don’t think you’ve ever seen heads drop from the lads. We might not play well sometimes, but heads never drop because they are a good bunch of lads.”
Town have claimed eight points from their spell of five games in 15 days – a 2-2 draw at Hull, 2-2 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday, 2-0 loss at Aston Villa, 1-0 win at Derby and then today’s 4-2 victory – to stay on the coattails of the top six.
“The Sheffield Wednesday game still rankles (conceding a late equaliser), but we’ve made up for that by beating Derby away and beating a good team here today,” said McCarthy. “We’d have taken the points we’ve got from the five games before hand.”
It was then put to McCarthy that ‘there can’t be any complaints about entertainment value this season, can there, with the goals flying in and bold play from the off...’.
The Blues boss stood up, placed his hands on the desk, and, making reference to some of the chants he has faced over the last 12 months, said: “Always remember… ‘Mick McCarthy your football is s***e’, ‘Mick McCarthy get out of our club’, ‘Mick McCarthy you’re a boring b*****d’.
“Always remember…. Because I do.”
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