Town will look to put their home woes behind them when they travel to take on Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Saturday and continue an impressive recent run of form on the road.
While the Blues have failed to score in their last five home games - a first in the club’s history - and have won just once in their last nine matches at Portman Road in all competitions, they are unbeaten in five away fixtures and recorded back-to-back wins at Preston, 1-0, and Sheffield Wednesday, 2-1, in their two most recent excursions.
Asked whether it’s better that his side are away from home this weekend after the fractiousness of Tuesday’s night’s 3-0 home defeat to Hull and with the Blues in impressive away form, McCarthy said: "I think our record recently has been very good, actually. It’s been all right.
"I was watching the news last night and I saw my ugly kipper come up on TV and I thought, ‘I’ll turn that up and see what they’re saying’.
"So I listened to that, and then I listened to it afterwards where Norwich had had one shot and equalised and they’ve won one in seven and they’re three points beneath us.
"I don’t see any hue and cry, I don’t know if they’re shouting for the manager to get out, I’ve no idea.
McCarthy has been impressed with Bristol City, who go into the game eighth, three points off the play-offs and six ahead of 12th-placed Town.
"They’ve had a great season,” he reflected. "They’ve been one of the better sides all season, just dropped out of that top six, which I think shows you how top six is when Bristol City are outside it and Sheffield United are outside of it.
"They’ve done well. They’ve invested in their team, they went out and spent a few quid on Famara Diedhiou and they’ve got some good players.
"They managed to keep hold of Aden Flint which I think was a really big thing for them when there were lots of people trying to sign him. They’ve done well, they’ve been a good team this season.”
BRISTOL CITY: We have been informed that @bcfctweets will NOT be selling to #ITFC fans on the day. Tickets on sale online until 3:00pm today, or in-store to 12:00pm tomorrow. 1,033 sold so far. pic.twitter.com/k1fGXszZmx– ITFC_PlanetBlue (@ITFC_PlanetBlue) March 15, 2018
Bartosz Bialkowski will take his usual place in goal with the Blues probably returning to the back three which brought them the away wins at Deepdale and Hillsborough and ought to have yielded a further win at Norwich.
That would see Adam Webster return to the team on the left of the trio with skipper Luke Chambers in the middle and Cameron Carter-Vickers on the right.
Jordan Spence and Jonas Knudsen will be the wing-backs with Bristol-born former Robin Cole Skuse likely to return in the centre of midfield along with Callum Connolly with Luke Hyam, Stephen Gleeson or Grant Ward ahead of them
@Official_ITFC fans travelling to Ashton Gate this Saturday. The Away guide can be found here: https://t.co/pjDRJ764sh– Liz Edwards ITFC SLO (@ITFC_SLO) March 14, 2018
Martyn Waghorn is likely to return in the central striker’s role - Town having passed the 37-game mark where he and Connolly would have received two-match bans had they picked up their 10th bookings - alongside Freddie Sears or Bersant Celina.
The Robins will be without suspended centre-half Flint and full-back Joe Bryan, while another central defender, Nathan Baker, is a doubt with a groin problem suffered in last Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Burton, their most recent game.
Historically, Town have the edge, winning 29 (27 in the league), losing 21 (21) and drawing 13 (13).
At Portman Road in September, goals from Josh Brownhill, Diedhiou and Bobby Reid saw Bristol City to a 3-1 victory, their first win on Town turf in 39 years, while Waghorn netted for the Blues.
Brownhill’s deflected goal put the visitors in front in the second minute, Diedhiou doubled the lead on 31, before Waghorn pulled a goal back four minutes prior to half-time. However, there was to be no second half comeback from Town and Reid sealed the three points eight minutes from the end.
At Ashton Gate in December 2016, a Lee Tomlin penalty and a goal of the season contender from Luke Freeman saw Bristol City to a 2-0 victory over the Blues.
Tomlin converted from the spot after Bialkowski had been adjudged to have fouled Tammy Abraham in the 31st minute, then Freeman smashed home a volley on 72 to seal the three points with David McGoldrick having come closest for Town when he hit the post earlier in the second half.
Skuse moved to the Blues from his hometown club, who he had joined as a schoolboy, following their relegation in the summer of 2013 after making 245 starts and 62 sub appearances, and scoring nine times.
Currently injured keeper Dean Gerken also left Ashton Gate the same summer, joining the Blues after a trial during pre-season ahead of 2013/14, having made 60 appearances for the Robins after signing from Colchester in July 2009.
Blues defender Spence spent two spells on loan with the Robins, a two-month stint at the end of the 2010/11 season and then the whole of the following campaign at Ashton Gate. In total he made 21 starts and one sub appearance without scoring.
South-West Branch Meet-Up Ahead of Bristol City #itfc #bristolcity https://t.co/n5o9Uk6Qxu
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Town assistant manager Terry Connor played for the Robins between 1991 and 1993.
City boss Johnson, a close friend of Skuse from their playing days together at Ashton Gate, was born in Suffolk during his father Gary’s time as a player with Newmarket Town.
Saturday’s referee is Darren England from South Yorkshire, who has shown 120 yellow cards and two red in 31 games so far this season.
England, who is in his second season as a Championship official having taken control of 24 matches at that level, has only taken control of one previous Town match, the 2-0 win at Sunderland last month in which he booked Joe Garner and one home player.
Squad from: Bialkowski, M Crowe, Spence, Kenlock, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Carter-Vickers, Webster, Skuse, Connolly, Hyam, Bru, Gleeson, Nydam, Ward, Celina, Waghorn, Sears, Morris, Drinan.