Ipswich Town announced a 10% cut in season ticket prices yesterday, with owner Marcus Evans saying the future of manager Mick McCarthy will be announced before April 30.
McCarthy’s contract is up in the summer, with the Blues boss last addressing his future prior to the defeat at Bristol City last time out, where he defended his position during a passionate and engaging press conference.
He is due to discuss his future with Evans in the coming weeks, with a decision made ‘well in advance’ of the April 30 early bird season ticket deadline.
Owner Evans says his decision will be based solely on what is best for Ipswich Town Football Club, while managing director Ian Milne has insisted the Blues owner needs time and space to make the correct decision.
Here we take a look at what Ipswich Town’s three figureheads have said regarding the manager’s situation.
Owner Marcus Evans - ‘My sole concern is what’s best for Ipswich Town
“As I’m sure you are aware, Mick’s contract is up at the end of the season and I’m fully aware that there will be supporters who will be waiting to see how that situation develops,” Evans wrote in a letter that will go out to season ticket holders.
“I continue to have a very good relationship with Mick. We talk regularly and we will sit down and discuss the best way forward for this football club in the next few weeks. And that is the sole concern for me - what is best for Ipswich Town.
“Supporters will know the result of that conversation in due course but it will be made public in advance of the Early Bird deadline.
“Although the league is a different prospect now from when I first invested in the club more than 10 years ago, I remain as determined as ever to see Ipswich Town back in the Premier League,” he added.
“In the next few weeks I will be outlining my thoughts in detail on how we can best go about achieving that in an interview which all supporters will have access to.”
Manager Mick McCarthy - ‘Pressure won’t force Marcus’ or my hands’
Speaking ahead of the Blues’ 1-0 defeat at Bristol City recently, McCarthy said: “The situation we are in (12th) isn’t as bad as the reaction. The atmosphere was a disgrace on Tuesday night (against Hull). I don’t know what they were trying to achieve. If it was to try and get me out then it’s not achieved anything because I’m not going to leave.
“If it was to try and put pressure on Marcus to sack me, well I’m still here. And I’m certain I’ll still be here for Middlesbrough at home (final game of the season). We’ll see.”
“I’ve said before ‘be careful what you wish for’. I think there will be a fair amount of people who give me support and want me to stay, but that’s not been resolved. I’m actually comfortable with it. I’m cool with it.”
“What if I’d have turned around and said I wasn’t staying? I wonder how that would have affected the whole piece? That would have been remiss of me and very unprofessional.
“And what happens if Marcus had come out and said ‘I am not keeping him’. How would I have felt about that and everybody else?
“That might have been throwing their hats and knickers in the air and dancing on the tables – I haven’t got a clue. But I’d have still been here. I wouldn’t have walked. No way.
“I said I had my 12 months at the end of last season and that I would see my job out. And that’s what I intend to do.
“If Marcus wants to extend that then I will consider that, certainly. And I might consider it even more now with all the people trying to get me out just to really annoy them.”
Managing director Ian Milne - ‘It’s a difficult decision that Marcus needs time to get right’
“There are a lot of factors that Marcus has got to take into account. He is looking at all the options and he understands all the issues – the entertainment, the rift, the decline in attendances.
“We’re in a fairly unique situation where we’ve known we were heading towards the end of Mick’s contract and then all these things seem to have happened at once to seemingly collapse the timetable.
“Marcus will make sure he makes what he feels is the right decision as to who is the best person for next season. It’s a difficult decision that he needs time to get right. None of us will want him to rush that decision.
“Before the Bristol City match I met a lot (fans). There were fans that were very pro Mick and said ‘don’t get rid of him, he’s very, very good’, but of course there were others who said ‘no, we’ve got to move on’.
“Even the fans who are against Mick will concede he has done a very good job, but they are saying ‘we want a change’.
“As I said to both sides, Mick is a very good football manager – I don’t think anybody disagrees with that.
“But I also know there are debates about his style and I know there are issues in terms of things he’s said and what happened at the Norwich match and what have you.”
MORE: ‘It’s a difficult decision that Marcus needs time to get right’ – Milne on McCarthy’s future
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