Today marks the fourth anniversary of Mick McCarthy’s appointment as Town manager. McCarthy, 57, took over as boss on November 1st 2012, Paul Jewell having left by mutual consent just over a week beforehand.

Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Rotherham was McCarthy's 201st match as Blues boss - including the 4-0 home victory over Middlesbrough in February 2013 which he missed as he was unwell when his assistant Terry Connor took charge - with his overall record standing at won 79, drawn 59 and lost 63, a win percentage of 39.3 per cent.

Having taken over when the Blues were bottom of the Championship, five points from safety having taken only seven points from 13 matches. He led them to 14th in that first campaign, then ninth, sixth and the play-offs in 2014/15 and then seventh last season. Town are currently 16th.

Speaking at the end of last week McCarthy said he was proud to be reaching the four-year milestone and believes he has done a good job over that time, even if he admitted after Saturday’s match that he is “disappointed in my own performance at the moment that we’re not getting the results that I think we should with the team I’ve got”.

“I take huge pride in it because quite clearly I’ve done a good job over the four years, no doubting that. I don’t want you to say it, I’m telling you I have,” he said.

“I’m thrilled I’ve had four years, there’d be a lot of others who would like to think they’d, not ‘get’ four years but ‘earn’ four years through their job, through how they do it and what they’ve done.

“[Owner] Marcus [Evans] hasn’t just kept me, Ipswich Town haven’t just kept me because they like me, it’s because I’ve done a good job. That’s why I’m still here.”

McCarthy, who has said he is very happy at Portman Road and has no plans to move on with his contract running to the summer of 2018 with an option for a further two years, is the longest-serving boss in the Championship, which illustrates the precariousness of the job at this level.

“I think 12 months is the average tenure,” McCarthy reflected. “I was looking and there’s me and Simon Grayson, who is just behind me on almost four years.

“And the next one to me is Gary Rowett, who is two years. And then you start looking down then and I think it’s Chris Hughton, who is one year and 10 months.

“You don’t get long and you look at some clubs since I’ve been here and they’ve had six, seven or eight managers. And they’re still not doing any better than they were when I came here.”

What have been your highlights and lowlights of McCarthy’s four years in charge of the Blues? Add to the News Comments below.

Photo: TWTD

GiveusaWave added 12:42 - Nov 1 Going to stay purely positive Congrats on keeping us up on your arrival and for making a number of significant signings. Well done on getting us to the play offs 2 seasons ago and well done on developing players such as Dozzell, Bishop etc. You have dabbled well in the transfer market and generally moved on a number of players for much more than you paid for them. You have also brought a degree of stability to the club and kept the players in-line (ie not gambling, doing bad stuff etc). You've never made the excuse that good players won't come to Ipswch due to location. You have a spotless personal reputation and have never said anything bad about the club.

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blues1 added 12:43 - Nov 1 How strange. The 10% of town fans who still believe McCarthy should stay have come out of the closet to comment on this story. Ne1 who believes that at this moment in time we are any wet better off than under keane/Jewell is delusional. We're 5 points from a relegation spot, playing awful negative football, with sheff weds away to come Sat. The players we have , by McCarthys own admission are good enough to at least have us challenging for the playoffs. The reason we won't is down to McCarthy and no1 else. His draconian tactics, playing players out of position, blindly playing his favourites regardless of their form and not allowing players to express themselves on the pitch are the only reason we are performing the way we are. Believe me, we could easily be relegated if something doesn't change, and change soon. So unless McCarthy is suddenly gonna change all the above ( which isn t gonna happen, he's too arrogant for that), then he needs to go

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DirtyOldNodger added 12:54 - Nov 1 Why wouldnt we comment on this story blues1? No point commenting on all the others as they always end up being wrist cuttingly boring rants from fans like yourself.
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martin587 added 12:54 - Nov 1 Suffolkboy, Do you not think that MM should be giving some of the younger players more than one game now.A few get one game then get dropped for no apparent reason.Do you call that progression.I refer to,Josh,Dozzell,Bishop,kenlock to name a few. Square pegs in round holes comes to mind,do you not agree.?
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TractorBoy666 added 12:59 - Nov 1 Stabilised us well, got us into the top 6 which was the best chance he was ever going to get at getting us promoted. Now most teams have found him and the players out and we're heading backwards rather than forwards. Most managers reigns would have been cut at this point but our owner continues to show no ambition. Who would I like in? A young and upcoming manager or one of our own would be wonderful, but one things for sure is that we need fresh ideas and quickly. Mick McCarthy isn't out of nowhere going to start getting our players to play it around (like most teams do when they come to PR) and the players he currently has for selection do not suit his style and therefore his work horses will soon enter the lineup again. I would not be surprised if we were to see the return of Skuglas this weekend where we go and try knicking that wonderful point!

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muccletonjoe added 13:03 - Nov 1 High would have to be signing bart and sears and maybe webster too. Low is signing douglas and then playing him.
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Beattiesballbag added 13:10 - Nov 1 Townie29 3) If we risk it all with a new manager with little experience from a lower league I bet we will get relegated. I know people keep saying, who are you going to get to do a better job, you need a man with experience,...........but how about............. Alf Ramsey age 35 Bobby Robson age 36 George Burley age 38. I know George has the most experience (not a lot I admit) out of the three but maybe the other two might be worth a shot ? you never know! On the other hand maybe we should stick to a big name who's done it all before like Roy Keen, Pual Jewell, Mick McCarthey. "a win percentage of 39.3. That is high for a Championship manager" Average points per game was highest the first season he got here, unfortunatly that was the high point ! If you are honest we are heading in the wrong direction again. If you stick with what you've got you could be watching "a hard to beat team" in League 1.

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johnabruzzi added 13:13 - Nov 1 Firstly, I echo brian_a_mul. Secondly, If we sign a decent striker in January, and Didzy, Williams and Bishop make strong recoveries from their injuries I feel we will have a strong side for the second half of the season. The moment we go on a winning streak all you toads will be crawling back under your stones. Up the town, 6 points off the play off... LONG LIVE BIG MICK

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Beattiesballbag added 13:18 - Nov 1 Highlight so far. including the 4-0 home victory over Middlesbrough in February 2013 which he missed as he was unwell when his assistant Terry Connor took charge, I wouldn't read anything into that!
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Dissboyitfc added 13:36 - Nov 1 I do worry that in 365 days he will be celebrating his 5th anniversary, i hope i am wromg! MM OUT!
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Marcus added 13:43 - Nov 1 Well done Mick, it's a tough job and keeping it for four year is in itself an achievement. The club has progressed, although the first team recovered and then stagnated and this season seems to have regressed a bit, but it's still early. Now is the time to show you have more trust in your players - let them express themselves more, stop being a back seat driver. I hope you can do that and enjoy a long and successful career at the club - if you can't then you should step aside and let someone else take over who can do that. There is a time when enforcing how a team plays is needed - that time passed after your first season - we need a team of captains who can take responsibility and know what's best rather than needing to ask from the bench. We have some tenacious players but still lack good leadership on the pitch. Instinct suggests this is more down to what happens on the training ground than the players not having the ability. An analogy is a school teacher - she knows how to teach children - they all do... However the best know how to stop teaching and help the students learn how to learn and then how to express what they know with guidance rather than by being over structured. Right now Mick is one of those teachers who teaches with a text book in his hand - he must move on from this.

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corfu72 added 13:46 - Nov 1 Martin587 Very sorry,I downmarked you in error.Should have been up marked. I agree with your comment.
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tractorboybig added 14:40 - Nov 1 Well he is doing the job Evans wants. Trouble is Evans has lost the plot. Not an Ipswich man. Both need to go. You cant say this club has gone forward in the last 4 years, in fact its gone backwards in the last eight. Made the playoffs by default and to be honest have never looked a team capable of any great achievement.
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Lightningboy added 14:56 - Nov 1 Make that a total of 7 and a half years of wasted time since Magilton got the push. Well done Marcus Evans.
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blues1 added 16:42 - Nov 1 Lightrningboy. Is that the same Marcus Evans that if it wasntvfor him there would be no itfc. The same one who has spent more money on signing than any owner/ chairman before him ( by a long long way too). The same one who is putting several million into the club every single season just to service the debt. A debt that if he hadn't bought would be owed to outside sources which if called in could be the end of the club. Yer. Let's just get rid of him. Then we all have to find some1 else to support. Not saying he's the best thing since sliced bread but just think we could have had some1 like Cellino, Tan or the Venkys. Need to be careful what u wish for. Imo the worst mistake he's made is in his choice of managers. And McCarthy is quickly turning out to be the worst choice of the 3. Yes he did well to get us out of trouble but then any half decent manager could have done that. He's now tho taking us back to where we were when he arrived

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Surco72 added 16:48 - Nov 1 Is the biggest win under his reign when he wasn't at the game ? I bet TC got a bo$%£%king for that !!
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grumpyoldman added 17:03 - Nov 1 Johnabruzzi, yes we are six points off the playoffs but only five points of relegation places. You say if we sign a striker, if players stay injury free and make strong recoveries we will be alright in the second half of the season. What happens if we don't sign a striker, if the injuries reoccur? As for crawling back under our stones if a winning streak starts, where has your support been for MM over the last few months. I post on here whether we lose or win, I used to support MM but realised he had run His course, and was basically a "one trick pony" bereft of ideas or the ability to adapt. I do not go in for name calling just post how I see things, if people agree or disagree with me it's their right, it has no effect on me. If you think he is doing a good job fair enough but I vehemently disagree with you.

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TimmyH added 17:26 - Nov 1 Sadly knowing this club it wouldn't surprise me at all if he makes the 5 year anniversary as well come hell or highwater...all to cosy picking up 750K to 1M a season (just guess work but wouldn't at all but bet I'm not far off the mark).
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GeorgiDoundarov added 17:38 - Nov 1 Guys! Let us think and not just "boo" at the easiest target - the Manager! It is not Mick who we should blame for the lack of success during the last couple of years. It is the lack of available funds given to the Manager. Mick has proven himself as a great Manager getting us out of the rock bottom in the first couple of months of his reign and the to top 6 with basically no money invested. Yes - his style is not nice to watch but this is really what can work at this Championship! During the last two seasons he virtually spent nothing and still brought some good players in. Just compare this with the "tons" of money that Jim and Keane spent bringing expensive but not worthy players. I bet if Mick had the 12M Jim spent we would have been in the Premiership already. Another way of looking at the managerial situation - if we assume Mick goes, then who will replace him? If no funds are available, don't expect sir Alex Ferguson or suchlike. It will be somebody, who will be presented as "young and ambitious" but in reality - "cheap" and he will lead us nowhere. So to me the problem is with Marcus Evans, who I thank for letting us out of the Administration and investing so much, but unfortunately not where needed, and now for some reason he is reluctant to continue doing this where it is really needed. And let us face it - to compete with the "Newcastles" and "Villas' type of reach clubs unfortunately we cannot do without funds and this is where we should concentrate our critics - not to the Manager. This is what I think and I bet I will be "awarded" with quite a few negative "likes" for my comments but this is the truth...

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blueboy1981 added 17:46 - Nov 1 ......... continuously surprised at how much abuse is allowed on this forum - levelled at anyone who has the inclination to criticise the Manager, or Club - ON ANYTHING. It needs sorting.
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blueboy1981 added 17:47 - Nov 1 ..... I guess that post of mine will be removed - as one of those that speaks out - and tells the TRUTH.
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Seasider added 17:58 - Nov 1 Didn't want him to come because of his attitude to the beautiful game,and his persona,neither of which has changed during his 4yr tenure. High point getting to the playoffs and Murph's 27 goals; rest rather turgid and predictable play, hoof ball,lack of pass and move(forward),little pace,favourites,treating fans with disdain;finally arrogance and stubbornness. Looks like he is making small changes to the way we play recently,and although he wouldn't admit it fans may have influenced this.He would say its the better players returning.However not sure he is competent enough to change his style of play too much as he has been so set in his ways.We shall see as he wont be going anywhere for a long time if he can help it. Must take issue with Dirtyoldnodger who seems to have it in for Blues1.He accuses him,and others of hiding behind their internet persona,and then uses personal abuse.Isn't he doing the same.I just cannot understand such vitriol against a fellow supporter,or anybody else for that matter. Talks about the AGM,was he there?I was and as reported asked the first question to Mr McCarthy about losing fans through not playing entertaining football.I received a reasoned reply unlike last year;so perhaps the leopard is changing his spots?

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grumpyoldman added 18:09 - Nov 1 GeorgiDoundarov as you see it the problem is Evans and the lack of funds given to MM, as I have stated before look around the league at managers with a more limited budget playing more attractive football and having more success. I honestly believe that we have enough players of enough quality to play a better brand of football. It is not Evans who picks the team, it is not Evans who determines the tactics, it is Evans who subsidises the club every year. That is the truth based on facts, not my opinion.

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FromIpswichToPhoenix added 18:10 - Nov 1 "McCarthy, who has said he is very happy at Portman Road and has no plans to move on" Well, at least one person is happy. And as for mentioning the two year extension, the thought of this dragging out to 2020 is depressing. I would love for Mick to prove us all wrong and take us to winning heights, I just don't see it happening.
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blues1 added 18:20 - Nov 1 Georgidoundarov. The trouble is.bur post isnt the truth. Evans has invested more money in players than ne1 before him. He have 3 managers £12m each which gotcus nowhere. And while we haven't spent much in the way of transfer fees in McCarthys time we've still spent millions bringing in players. So called free transfers cost loads in agents fees, signing on fees to the players. Loan fees to the club's for any loan players we sign. Just signing Best, Lawrence and Williams on deadline day cost us £2m+. Too many of our fans think that free transfers are actually free. There no such thing as a free transfer. The only reason fans are blaming Evans is because we haven't paidcloads in transfer fees which is ridiculous. Would any playercwechsve signed been a better player if we'd had to pay a transfer fee? Are they any endorse just because theyre out of contract?

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