Ipswich Town defender Tommy Smith says the club’s players are all desperate to see manager Mick McCarthy stay.

The Blues boss refused to rule himself out of the running for the vacant Republic of Ireland job prior to Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Burnley, with reports in Ireland this morning suggesting it is now his to turn down after the FAI grew tired of top target Martin O’Neill dragging his feet.

“We’ve just got to get on with our jobs – if it happens, it happens,” said Smith.

“We don’t want him to go though because he’s been really good for us. He’s now had the chance to build his own squad, the performances have been good and there is a feeling we’ve got something to build on. A change of manager means starting all over again so we really want him to stay.”

He added: “He gets the best out of his players. He’s not shy to have a laugh and a joke with the lads, at the right time, but when he needs to be serious he’s that man too. He’s got great man-management skills.

“It would be magnificent if he stayed.”

McCarthy, left, has refused to discuss whether he’d actually want the job, saying: “I’ll only answer that question if I’m officially asked it.”

The FAI are understood to have a strict budget of £1m-a-year to hand Giovanni Trapattoni’s replacement, with any compensation owed to a current employer to be deducted from that figure.

With McCarthy contracted at Portman Road until June 2015, the Suffolk club would be likely to demand somewhere between £500,000 and £1m as way of a pay out.