Town manager Mick McCarthy says he’s going into the season aiming for a top two place, but admits it will be a tough ask given the quality of some of the other Championship squads and the money which has been spent this summer. The Blues start their season at Brentford on Saturday.

“We’ll start and we’ll aim at that,” McCarthy said. “You look at the teams that are still in our league from coming down and having been relegated and the money that they have, and seem to be spending, not so much Cardiff but Fulham are.

“Then I look at Burnley, QPR and Hull all looking to spend money and get better squads. And then there’s Derby who seem to be spending at will and Middlesbrough, who spend £6 million on one player.

“That makes it incredibly tough. But the pleasing thing is that we’ve always managed to compete with them, certainly to a certain extent.”

Reflecting on last season, he added: “Norwich, who everybody thought had the best squad, certainly I did at the start of the season, all the way through they kept their players.

“They ended up getting promoted via the play-offs but they had the best squad, so they should have done.

“Alex Neil came and did well in the end when it looked like it might be going a little bit pear-shaped. But they should have got promoted because they had the best squad.

“And I think if I look at Burnley, if they keep their squad [they should be right up there], if I look at Hull, they’ve lost players but [manager Steve Bruce] looks to be signing the best of the Championship players, or certainly trying to.

“Derby, Middlesbrough, it’s going to be hard to finish in the top two. But it’ll make it all the more pleasing if we do.”

Given the money spent there has been speculation that some clubs aren’t adhering to the Financial Fair Play rules, although the allowable losses increase significantly from this season.

McCarthy says he takes little notice of factors he can do nothing about: “I’ve stopped scratching my head and worrying about it. I asked a question last year ‘How does it work?’ and of course you get this lengthy process of what might happen.

“Apparently QPR were going to be fined a huge sum of money and I hear that their owner will contest that and it’s going to go to a court. Is the Football League going to go to court? I don’t know.

“I don’t worry about it. I just think if that’s what it is, I’ll deal with what I can change, what I can affect. I can’t affect that.”

He expects Bristol City to be the team which makes the most significant impression of the trio promoted from League One: “Bristol City really impressed last year. They seemed to win it at a canter, to be honest with you.

“I watched Preston quite a few times and they won the play-off final comfortably and wedged in between them were the MK Dons and they play some really good football.

“They’ve been knocking on the door of the Championship for a while, so it’ll be interesting to see how they do.

“But the ones that stand out for me will be Bristol City. That is a big club, not knocking the others, they’re big clubs as well, but they seem to be spending a few quid, don’t they?

“They’ve already splashed out on one and they’re [reportedly] trying to get Jesse Lingard from Manchester United and they’re talking about £2.5 million for him, apparently.

“You’ve got to say, if that’s the case, if that’s the level of the spending that they’re doing, they want to be competitive. They’re not coming into the league to be talked about in terms of ‘Will they stay up?’.

“If that’s the kind of player they’re signing, I’d say they look like the favourites to be the better of the three. But, as we know, spending a lot of money doesn’t always work, does it?”

At his previous clubs McCarthy has sometimes followed play-off disappointment with Championship titles.

In 2003/04 his Sunderland team finished third and lost in the play-off semi-final to Crystal Palace on penalties but came back to win the division by seven points the next year.

McCarthy’s Wolves team were fifth in 2006/07 when they were defeated in the play-off semi-finals by their biggest rivals West Brom and after finishing seventh the following season won the Championship in 2008/09 by seven points.

“No pressure!" the Town manager joked. "I’ve generally won it [after losing in the play-offs]. We’ll see, we’ll try. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Photo: Action Images

parhamblue added 06:33 - Aug 7 What we have on our side is probably the best management team in the league, they've had 2 plus seasons to get things working their way, and a policy not to sell very many of their marketable players (I wish it was none). We're not a mega bucks club, and never have been. The toughie is to get promotion we need to have 22 great players in every position, and they mostly need to stay fit. We almost have that, but at the moment not quite.

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hoppy added 07:03 - Aug 7 I think there's a little bit of uncertainty, but there's certainly a certain amount of certainty that Mick would say his favourite word here was certainly to a certain extent, certainly... Of that, I think we can be quite.................. sure.
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bluefeast added 07:29 - Aug 7 Its the toughest championship league ever , next year it will be even harder ,so i hope we escape and get promoted. There are probably 18 clubs who could finish in the top 6.
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ChateauWines added 07:31 - Aug 7 I dont think even chelsea have 22 great players for every position lol
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ipswich134 added 07:32 - Aug 7 We will do it. Just believe....
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gamezone added 08:20 - Aug 7 What we do need is a delete button on this site, so when the idiots start their critical comments on here, we can delete. Some started even in pre-season, be supportive fans or as MM would say Foxtrot Oscar
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jpring89 added 08:27 - Aug 7 We are arguably one of the most stable clubs in this league with a good manager a great team spirit we still have our spine of our team not many changes good signings in the right places to strengthen ourselves. We boast a strong position really right up there with the 'so called' favourites in this league who splashing the cash I know it won't be easy but this time round we have the best chance we have ever had in the past 10 years and I just feel we are going to do it this time

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parhamblue added 08:55 - Aug 7 It's helpful that you point that out, ChateauWines.
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GiveusaWave added 09:43 - Aug 7 I'd like to see a new right back. Besides that we have a VERY strong squad now and we should be aiming to win this league. Tabb, Murphy, Bishop, Bru, Berra could all be mid-table Premiership players. Sears, Mcgoldrick, Pittman, Fraser, Chambers, Skuse are all fantastic too. Can't wait to beat Brentford on Saturday. Raring to go now.
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RaymondovicBlue added 09:46 - Aug 7 GameZone - did I read some of the posts here too generously - or were you referring to negative comments on other threads? OPTIMISM is a wonderful thing ... last year was the "best chance we've had for years" and we had a great season, finishing 6th. With the small squad (only counting those who Mick would play/ could rely on) we really played above ourselves. THIS YEAR we have an even better squad (by far - and, according to Mick, not yet complete!) and so have an EVEN BETTER chance than we've had for years. Last year this squad would have been a top two squad. HOWEVER, Mick is right - there are a lot of quality squads (on paper) ... even moreso than last year when there were plenty enough! So we are only another top 6 squad on paper by comparison. HOWEVER (again!) we have advantages over other clubs as others have said : We have stability of the squad We have team spirit in the squad We have some real quality in the squad We have good management of the squad We have youth biting at the heels of the squad But what could well make us top two is that we have a squad that has ALREADY shown that it is willing to play "above itself" in order to win. If we can have motivation in the squad ALL YEAR LONG (we didn't like the cold last year!!) then we can win it and keep up Mick's record of doing that after losing in playoffs. I'd take that. COME ON YOU BLUES !

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BrettenhamBlue added 09:57 - Aug 7 QPR should accept their fine and get on with it. They knew the rules and they clearly violated them. Cheating shouldn't be accepted in any sport. Think we have a great squad this season. Pittman and Murphy as aerial threats. Sears and Mcgoldrick who can pass the ball and finish well. McDonnell who is insanely good as a youngster (people can't believe how good he is in training). The wing wizardry of Tabb and Fraser. The young lad from Arsenal. We have the best chance we have had in years. Why are QPR even allowed to sign players? Baffling to say the least. Hope the Football League sorts this out.

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tractorboybig added 09:59 - Aug 7 not so much tough more a dream.
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muccletonjoe added 10:06 - Aug 7 Thankfully the talkings almost over and we can get on with the football
2

BlueNomad added 10:07 - Aug 7 Yes it will be tough but think how sweet it will be if we do it!!
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Lightningboy added 10:19 - Aug 7 Just get us in contention for the play-offs again Mick and i'll be very happy. On the style of football..just have a bit more faith in your players to keep the ball down and play it around a bit more..that's all I ask. COYB!!!
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Guthrum added 10:22 - Aug 7 I don't quite get all the "this season will be tougher than last season" stuff every summer. There are big teams dropping down, with parachute money to spend, but that's the same as last time and some of them will perform poorly, as Fulham and Cardiff did last time. Bright prospects will come up, but some of them will stall and struggle, as Rotherham. The other teams have gained some talent from elsewhere and lost some likewise, or to retirement. Otherwise it's just a reshuffling of players. The strongest three teams from last season are no longer around, having been promoted. Barring Mings, we've kept the core of our squad - which was good enough to achieve a top-six finish - and added to it. There is no logical reason why we should find it tougher this season than last.

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BackTheBlues added 12:29 - Aug 7 PATIENCE... That is what is required this season! Most town fans 'expecting' top 6 as a minimum! This isn't a bad thing, I too fall in that bracket as our squad is better... but if we get a rocky result here and there everybody needs to pick the team up and push them back the other way! Going to be another up and down season, stick with it, may just be the best up!

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warktheline added 13:03 - Aug 7 For me it shows how far the club has come over the last couple of seasons. Expectations are high, within the club and of course with fans alike. Our squad looks stronger this season compared to last campaign, therefore why shouldn't we all be feeling positive! McCarthy will aim for automatic promotion, there's no doubt about that.
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runningout added 13:35 - Aug 7 Got to aim high, then higher... if your a fan in their forties and fifties, it's what we were once used to, and wonder why it's not considered as the norm...
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JimInGreensboro added 17:20 - Aug 7 Having the best players would be nice. But having the best team is always better.
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Seasider added 17:36 - Aug 7 Mick mentions the strongest teams,and appears to infer that they are the spenders,and we are the small fry in comparison. Then lets spend a bit more to get in a couple of really top players so that we are on a level playing field,not that I am saying he hasn't done brilliantly in tranfer market this season. BTW Guentchev if TWTD did a poll don't think Tabby would be rated a mid table Prem player by many on here!

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jas0999 added 18:59 - Aug 7 It will be tough. Particularly as we go into the new season with insufficient senior defenders. There is no point Mick moaning about what others have spent. We cashed in on Mings and have reinvested very little of it. Yes, hew players cost on wages, but equally we have saved on thirteen players wages since last season.
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TimmyH added 19:02 - Aug 7 They say each year 'it's the toughest season ever' but in reality some of the relegated teams struggle with the physicality of this league plus the downward spiral in team confidence too. I'd be very surprised to see Hull and QPR both in the top 6 at the end of the season...and as always it's the teams coming up you have to look out for. After last season we should be aspiring to get at least in the play-offs but whether our squad has significantly improved to achieve that is open to question.

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Superkeepercooper added 21:57 - Aug 7 I am genuinely excited about our prospects this season. We have a front line that any club in the Championship would take and a much strengthened midfield with the addition of genuinely pacey wingers in Palmer, Maitland-Niles, and a box to box man in Douglas. Add to that Bishop and Skuse and we can match anyone in the division. Defence stills needs strengthening but MM needs to swallow his pride and drop Smith, move Chambo back into the centre with Berra and play two genuine fullbacks in Parr (when fit) and Knudsen. My concern is the keeper position. Neither Bart not Gerks are good or consistent enough.

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