"At my time of life, opportunities to manage at the highest level are few and far between. When I took on this job my mandate was to keep this club in the Championship and nothing more.

"I have stuck to my side of the bargain and I have assembled a squad of players that whoever inherits it will only need to do some fine tuning. At least this time I am not out on my arse and the move is entirely my decision.

"I would though like to thank everyone from the players to the tea lady, for their input and although I am moving to pastures new it will be with a heavy heart. The supporters have been fabulous and deserve the very best."

I genuinely hope that the above statement remains nothing more than a figment of my imagination and that we won't be hearing anything similar before the new season starts.

I admit, however, that I do have my concerns. There are a lot of jobs out there that might not only attract the attention of Mick but visa versa and if the Irish job was offered to him again, surely he would not decline?

He is still regarded in the Irish community as a bit of a hero by taking them all the way to the World Cup finals against the odds and surely another crack of the whip in the twilight of his career would be irresistible.

This, I fear, is the greatest threat to our tried and trusted friend, who guided the Blues not only out of trouble with iron grit determination but also with common sense judgement.

The next big risk on the football horizon is if a Premier League fish comes looking. Stoke could do a lot worse than recruiting this rugged-faced Yorkshire man and perhaps limited resources would not worry him too much if he could have another crack at the Premier!

If Everton's attempts to woo Roberto Martinez from Wigan fail, then surely it is not beyond the realms of possibility that McCarthy's name might fall into the frame?

And, if Martinez finds the offer of moving back into the top flight with Everton too much to resist, then surely Wigan would be tempted to go for our man. With a huge parachute payment due and a whole series of quality players at their disposal, it would indeed be tempting. Their owner Dave Whelan gave Paul Jewell a job for life so why not his close friend Mick, who has arguably achieved more?

If Aaron Cresswell is sold off to Aston Villa, which is looking increasingly likely, would this persuade Mighty Mick that we are nothing more than a selling club and he would better view some pastures new? I suppose this depends on how much of a say Mick would have on this. He might in fact endorse it if he goes for the right price and he feels he has assembled a strong enough squad to cope with this - or he could use ALL of the money to re-recruit.

Between now and the start of the new campaign the gossip will be rife and new jobs will be plenty. The most important question that we all must ask then is will Mick be tempted to look elsewhere, or will he want to finish the job he has just started and guide the Blues to future glory?

"Yes, it was a great opportunity I'd admit but money is not everything. It is always flattering to get offers of this sort but my job here has only just begun and with Terry Connor and the backroom staff, the building blocks are in place to step up to the plate and make real inroads on our ultimate goal which, of course, is to reach the land of milk and honey. "

Now that is what I am hoping to hear from Mick the Man if future speculation needs some clarification. Then we can all focus on the season ahead with renewed optimism and belief.

Come on you Blues!

canveyblue added 16:23 - May 23 Mick and Terry will still be here next season. When they lead us back to the big league. COYB.
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BillBlue added 16:24 - May 23 Forget it. Mick is fast becoming a blue and cressy already is!
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cooper4england added 16:33 - May 23 Anyone for a dose of scaremongering?
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youidiots added 17:01 - May 23 What the hell is wrong with you man? Why even write this? Really think you need to evaluate your outlook, sunshine.
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RM909 added 17:04 - May 23 And MAYBE Portman Road will collapse in the close season......And MAYBE the Orwell will rise up and wipe Ipswich from the map.....And MAYBE the Naaaarfolk folk will sweep over the border, occupy Suffolk and force us all to play in yellow!! But......just like the rest of this blog.....it seems a little unlikely....
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NoCanariesAllowed added 17:06 - May 23 We're talking about a guy who spent four years at Millwall, six years with Ireland, three years with Sunderland and six with Wolves. Mick doesn't strike me as the flighty type.
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Sponsored_by_Fisons added 17:09 - May 23 I feel like I've just wasted a couple of minutes of my life reading that. Jeez. Get a grip man. Please please please don't post one of these for each player that you are concerned might leave.
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theresonlyonekeano added 17:11 - May 23 Ridiculous blog, why would you even suggest this? Never read anything so negative
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Edmunds5 added 17:34 - May 23 You are living up too your username a bit here. I can't see him leaving and genuinely feel he is relishing coming up against the Qpr's, Leicester's, Blackburns ect next season. There are a few rumours flying around about certain jobs and Mick hasn't really been mentioned with any of those posts and the Ireland job isn't even vacant. If he ever does decide to leave their isn't a great deal we can do about it anyway bar give him our support, that is part of football and you move on but I can't see that in the foreseeable future. We're in a good place it seems at the moment, with a good squad, a good manager and seemingly some better times ahead lets not go putting a cloud over it for no real reason.

6

Walk_the_Wark added 18:53 - May 23 Hope he goes
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This_girl_is_blue added 19:12 - May 23 What a silly blog. Oh and I think Portman Road is under a gas main which is going to burst sometime soon.... And I heard all the players saying they're going to move and Marcus is going to sell the club and and and...... Time to get a grip!!
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Pessimistic added 20:12 - May 23 Get real people! This was only a hypothesis and I never once suggested that I wanted it to happen. It may be seen by some as a doomsday depiction but that is probably only because you are largely oblivious to what is going on behind the scenes. I am only too aware that by having the audacity to even suggest this worse-case scenario, I would face a barrage of abuse but sadly that is the nature of the beast. Be careful what you wish for because taking everything for granted is the greatest cause of suffering.

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Gilesy added 21:09 - May 23 This is arguably the finest blog I've ever read. It's just not an argument anyone would ever be likely to win.
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bohslegend added 21:22 - May 23 Ridiculous waste of time writing it or reading it. The fact that it turns out like Pam' s dream in Dallas - makey-uppy - doesn't make it any more tolerable. This kind of total nonsense when we are doing so well doesn't help anyone with anything except getting a few cheap reactions. IN MICK WE TRUST! COYB!
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DurhamTownFan added 05:53 - May 24 I see your point, but I very much doubt that MM is held in such high esteem as you seem to think. His record suggests that he's a great manager in the Championship, but inconsistent in the Premier League, with direct football preferred (which, thanks to the successes of Spain and Bercelona, is no in vogue right now). Having been fired by Wolves and managed Ipswich to a bottom-half finish last term, he's hardly on the rader of clubs like Everton. The time to worry comes if Ipswich are near the top of the table come Christmas once the PL sackings start to roll in. But, if we are in that position, I'd back ME to get his wallet out over January like Sheepshanks did when we signed Marcus Stewart, thereby convincing MM that we're the place to be! Either way, very little to worry about here

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theobald1985 added 13:08 - May 24 while mcarthy going is not impossible it is very very unlikely blogs should be about something better than things that are very very unlikely
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FarringdonBlue added 07:03 - May 25 This is an absolutely ridiculous blog with no substance whatsoever. Agree with most of the posters here, there's 3 minutes of my life i'll never get back! If you can't say anything positive then don't say anything at all!
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Pessimistic added 10:07 - May 25 Pessimistic I might be but better that than dumb, And you may think I've gone too far, When all is said and done. But reality is where I'm at, And its better that I show, That all that glistens is not gold, So now you really know!
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Daleyitfc added 11:00 - May 25 Excellent blog : all the other people commenting are, frankly, blinkered and of very little brain. I think when the Irish job becomes available , MM will be gone, undoubtedly.
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Pessimistic added 10:49 - May 26 Thank you Daleyitfc for having the foresight to look beyond the present, which sadly most of the contributors here are unable to do. Mick McCarthy would NOT refuse another crack at the Irish job and the current occupant is considerably older than him, which answers two important questions. Yes, he is not too old for the job and the chances of Ireland requesting his services are indeed very real and could happen very soon.

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ArnieMsBigToe added 14:09 - May 28 Oh I see Daleyitfc. So now you have a brain do you?
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