McCarthy: Leaders Could Pull Away Monday, 15th Dec 2014 06:00 Boss Mick McCarthy believes that the likes of Derby, Bournemouth, next Saturday’s opponents Middlesbrough, and perhaps Town, could eventually pull away at the top of the Championship. The division is currently as tight as ever with the Cherries, who have 39 points, leading second-placed Boro on goal difference with Derby third and Town fourth both just a point worse off. The top six are separated by only four points, and the top 12 by just nine, but McCarthy says he doesn’t expect things to remain quite so tight in the longer term. “I don’t think so at the end,” he said. “I think I’m looking at Middlesbrough, Derby, Bournemouth, they’re the best sides. “We haven’t played Middlesbrough yet but Bournemouth and Derby are the best two teams we’ve played and we’ve only played 21 games, there’s a lot of football to be played and they may well pull away. “Maybe we will as well, I don’t know. I don’t forecast anything for us or forecast for everybody else, we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. “Wolves lost five on the bounce and then they’ve beaten Sheffield Wednesday [1-0] at Sheffield Wednesday, which sums the league up for me.” Asked whether the Blues are achieving more than he thought they would this season, McCarthy said: “I don’t give it that much thought about how much we’re going to achieve. “I set off at the start of the season wanting to win the league. Whether that’s realistic or not, who knows, and we’ll work down from there. “Did I think that would be the case at the start of the season? Probably not. We’ll just try and finish as high as we can.” He added: “I’m very fortunate with the players that I’ve got that they’ve got a good work ethic and a good manner about them, they’re good together. That makes up for a lot, believe me.” Is he concerned that his relatively small squad might not be able to cope with injuries? The Town boss has fielded 25 players in the league this season, although eight of those have made five appearances or fewer mostly from the bench. “I don’t know, we’ll find out, won’t we? The guys are all right, I haven’t played that many, probably fewer than anybody else. If we keep them all fit, they’re good specimens, we’ll be OK.” Saturday’s draw saw Town’s unbeaten record stretch to eight with the Blues having lost just once in their last 17 games. While delighted his side is showing such consistency, McCarthy is taking nothing for granted. “You know me, I won’t be getting carried away with it because there’s a kick up the arse waiting for you all the time in this league,” he warned. “It’s a matter of keeping going. The league is relentless and you’ve got to be fairly ruthless in it and take your chances when they come and make sure that you’re on blob every week. “If you just let your guard down, you can get beat and then you’re suddenly on a two or three-game run where you’ve not won one.”
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