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McCarthy Delighted With September Points Haul
Monday, 29th Sep 2014 06:00

Boss Mick McCarthy is delighted with Town’s haul of 12 points out of 12 during September and is targeting adding to that total when the Blues visit Sheffield Wednesday for the month’s final game on Tuesday.

Saturday's 2-0 home victory over Rotherham was Town's fourth win on the trot, the first time they have managed such a run since McCarthy took charge at the start of November 2012.

“It’s gone particularly well,” he reflected after the victory over the Millers. “I’ll be glad to see the back of it if we get some more points.”

Regardless of the result at Hillsborough, McCarthy seems certain to be amongst the nominees for the poisoned chalice that is the Championship’s Manager of the Month award for September.

The Town boss has been nominated for the gong twice since he joined the Blues, in December 2012 and precisely a year later in December 2013, but so far without winning. Joe Royle was the last Town boss to carry off the award back in November 2004.

The Blues’ season has undergone quite a turnaround having been 19th on five points at the end of August after being beaten by local rivals Norwich City in the season’s first East Anglian derby.

However, McCarthy doesn’t believe his team - who are now fifth on 17 points only three behind the top-of-the-league Canaries - was playing particularly poorly at that stage: “Norwich are the best team. That was a sin because it was Norwich and they’re our nearest and not so dearest rivals. But it wasn’t in terms of how we played.

“They were better than us, they deserved to beat us, although the goal was offside. But they were the better team, and the reality is that they are a better team and I think they’ve got a better squad because they’ve spent chunks of money.

“I can get over myself with that, that doesn’t bother me. And if anybody gets upset by me saying it, unlucky, because that’s a fact of life. But we didn’t play badly.

“[Since then we’ve made changes], we’ve got a bit better balance. I think Jonny Parr and Tyrone have added to it certainly. Tyrone’s stopped playing with the brakes on, he’s getting forward. That’s helped.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy was pleased with midfielder Kevin Bru’s performance as he played the full 90 minutes on his full home debut: “Bru’s fitness is fine, he ran 13 and half kilometres at Derby, he was one of the highest in terms of covering the ground, so he has no problem with his fitness.

“I was pleased with him and he was a nice replacement for Teddy Bishop, who needed to sit one out.”


Photo: Action Images



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ipswich134 added 06:16 - Sep 29
Manager of the month if we win or draw tomorrow?
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emergencylime added 06:47 - Sep 29
Probably has to be a win, otherwise Boro would have the edge for their cup exploits perhaps
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BotesdaleBlue added 07:14 - Sep 29
People often say look at the table at the end of September/beginning of October to get a valid early assessment of your teams start. Well, with nine matches played I would have thought nearly all Town fans would be more than happy with 17 points, fifth in the league and only three points off top spot.

With points already in the bag, a very decent competitive squad and with confidence high, it gives us an excellent basis to consolidate and the try to maintain some level of consistency that has eluded us for many seasons. Top six is possible, but I say again, consistency will be the key and I think with this team's spirit and togetherness and with Mick and TC at the helm, we have a chance.

Now come on and lets get at least a point tomorrow. COYB.
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BlueSwede added 07:38 - Sep 29
Nice to see MM say that Bishop "needed to sit one out". Feels like he stressed "one", so it sounds as if he will be back in the side against Wednesday.
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Guthrum added 08:21 - Sep 29
The Manager of the Month "curse" is largely mythical, so hardly a "poisoned chalice". I did a blog on this a few years ago (including a reference to McCarthy):

Blog: [Blog] The Manager of the Month Curse - Myth or Reality? 4th Sep 2010 22:05
Following Roy Keane's nomination for August 2010's Championship Manager of the Month and some posters' alarmed reaction: "The curse! The curse! We're doomed if he wins! Give it to someone else!!!", I decided to see whether winning the accolade did have an adverse effect on the team's performance in the next couple of games. 8

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