Manager Mick McCarthy says he didn’t particularly enjoy the lap of appreciation which followed Saturday’s Championship place-confirming 3-1 home victory over Birmingham. The Town boss would have much preferred a lap of honour having seen the Blues into the play-offs.
"I don’t enjoy that, going round applauding them for their support because we’ve been scrapping against relegation,” he admitted.
"I’m not really happy going round applauding our crowd because we’ve stayed up, feeling relieved. I prefer going round thinking we’re in the play-off zone."
That’s not to say he didn’t appreciate the support of fans throughout his six months at the club: "It was a lap of appreciation from us to them for their support.
"Chambo said at the end of season dinner the other night that despite having played 13 games and having seven points, they were never booed off once.
"I’ve been to some places where you’d have been hauled off and booted off if they’d been in the position they were in.
"I think it’s nice that we show our appreciation, the fans certainly want to support the team, you don’t get the feeling ever that they’re anti the team or the players.
"It is a win, where we are now from where we were is a win. But I’d prefer it to be a play-off spot or something, I’m not happy staving off relegation with 60 points.”
It was pointed out to McCarthy that the Blues — who would be fifth in a league table beginning on November 1st when he took over - might have made the play-offs if the season had longer to run, but he felt it has gone on quite long enough: "If the season were a bit longer I might have a f****** heart attack!”
The Blues boss was pleased to hear fans chanting his assistant Terry Connor’s name during the lap of appreciation: "It was me that encouraged it for him. He’s terrific. We’re a really good partnership, work well together, we did at Wolves.
"Some people in a bizarre way seemed to think he was disloyal by taking the job at Wolves when I left, but I encouraged him to take it.
"The 13 games he had, I said to him ‘If you’ve got a master plan that you haven’t told me about I’d be a bit upset with you!’.
"With two of us we won games, we were good together. If you’d have isolated me and sacked him it might have made a difference as well. Certainly sacking me and isolating him in the job made a difference.
"But far from being disloyal I encouraged him to take it, I wanted him to succeed at it. And I always knew that if it didn’t work out that when I got a job he would be the first call I’d be making. And I’m glad I did. It was never in doubt.”