McCarthy: I Get a Great Reception at The Den - Except When I'm the Opposition Manager!
Saturday, 17th Jan 2015 06:00

Town boss Mick McCarthy says he gets a great reception when he returns to the Den - except when he’s managing the opposition.

McCarthy was a Millwall player at the end of his career between 1990 and 1992, when he took over as boss. He remained manager until 1996 when he took charge of the Republic of Ireland.

“I get a great reception when I go back and I’m not involved in the game. I get a pretty poor reception when I go back and it’s my team that’s playing them!” he laughed.

“But I get that, that’s OK. I don’t particularly expect a welcome with open arms when I’m competing to nick the points off them.

“Last season I went back and I got my usual dose of friendly banter from them and then when I went back on the Tuesday to watch them against Blackburn it was ‘Hello Micky boy, you’re a legend here!’. I get that and I appreciate it.”

He says his most enjoyable period at Millwall came in the 1994/95 season when the Lions beat Arsenal 2-0 at Highbury in an FA Cup third round replay, then defeated Chelsea 5-4 on penalties in another replay in the next round following a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

“We had a spell where we beat Chelsea in the cup and Arsenal in the cup,” he recalled. “Mark Kennedy and Mark Beard scored at Arsenal. I think Sparky scored a great goal at Arsenal. That was a really happy memory.

“I enjoyed my time there. I enjoyed my time there as a player and then as a player-manager and then managing. It was great. It’s a good club to cut your teeth at, that’s for sure.”

Still based in Bromley, McCarthy remains in touch with his old club: “I’ve kept in contact, I live five minutes from Calmont Road where they train and I’m only about eight or nine miles from the ground still.

“When I left I went on to the Republic of Ireland and I was loving my job, so I was hardly pining for anything else. But I kept in contact with people and I’ve still got a very high regard for them there.”

Photo: Action Images

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