x

Portuguese Boss Claims Town Talks - Ipswich Town News

Portuguese manager José Gomes, who is currently in charge of Saudi Arabian side Al-Taawoun, is reported to have claimed he is in what are described as "early negotiations" with Town.

According to RTP News, Gomes told radio station Antena 1 that he has begun discussions with the Blues regarding the manager’s position which will become vacant when Mick McCarthy moves on in the summer.

"The enthusiasm is very big regarding the conversations and meetings that my agent has had in England,” Sport Witness quotes Gomes as having said in the interview.

"Because getting into a league like the Championship would indeed be extraordinary for my career.

"Football in England would be the embrace of a dream. Because it’s football with a contagious enthusiasm, with a lot of intensity, even in Championship we see stadiums filled with 20,000, 30,000 spectators in every game.”

While it might well be true that 47-year-old Gomes’s representatives have made contact with Town, the much-travelled boss, who is also said to be interesting another Saudi club Al-Hilal, would appear a very unlikely successor to McCarthy.

Gomes’s numerous previous clubs include Portuguese sides Leiria, Moreirense and Aves, as well a stint in in Hungary with Videoton and spells as an assistant at Porto, in Spain at Malaga and in Greece with Panathinaikos.

Elsewhere, former Blues loanee David Unsworth, 44, currently U23s coach and director of coaching at Everton, is said to be among those interested in the Town job.

Unsworth's only experience in first-team management up to now are spells as caretaker-boss at Preston and with the Toffeemen.

VVV-Venlo boss Maurice Steijn is again being linked with the Blues having been erroneously rumoured to be a Town target last summer.

The 44-year-old Dutchman has been tipped for a move to a bigger club this summer but would appear very much an outsider for the Portman Road job.

What to read next:

Davis: We're Going to Have to Do Everything We Can to Keep Vardy Quiet
Leif Davis says he is expecting another intense meeting with Leicester City this weekend, the Blues having drawn each of the last three meetings with the Foxes.
Davis: I Felt Like I Let My Teammates Down
Town defender Leif Davis has admitted he feels he let his teammates down following his sending off against Arsenal last month.
Rangers Linked With Burgess
Scottish giants Rangers are reportedly interested in out-of-contract Blues central defender Cameron Burgess.
Sheeran Call Me Ted Poster Unveiled
Call Me Ted’s final poster of the season by Blues sponsor and minority shareholder Ed Sheeran has been unveiled.
McKenna: Finishing Above Leicester the Motivation
Town boss Kieran McKenna says the motivation when the Blues travel to face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday is finishing above the Foxes in the Premier League table.
Humphreys: I'm Gutted Now, But It's Been a Really Good Season
Blues midfielder Cameron Humphreys is gutted that his loan side Wycombe Wanderers were beaten 1-0 by Charlton Athletic in the League One play-off semi-final last night but says he will look back on the spell positively once the dust settled.
McKenna: Delap Young Player Nomination Well Deserved
Town manager Kieran McKenna says Liam Delap fully deserves his nomination for the Premier League Young Player of the Year award and was pleased to that the Blues striker isn’t the only one he has coached on the shortlist.
McKenna: Brentford Game Another in Which We Were Competitive
Blues manager Kieran McKenna felt last week’s 1-0 defeat at home to Brentford was typical of many of Town’s matches this season.
McKenna: Burley All-Clear Fantastic News
Town boss Kieran McKenna is delighted to learn that George Burley, the previous Blues manager to take charge of the club in the Premier League, has been given the all-clear following his cancer treatment.
McKenna: Phillips Unlikely to Return Before End of Season
Town boss Kieran McKenna says it’s unlikely Kalvin Phillips will play for the Blues again this season with the on-loan Manchester City man still struggling with an achilles issue.