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McCarthy: Forty-Three to Go!
Tuesday, 18th Aug 2015 22:55

Town boss Mick McCarthy would rather be top of the league than bottom but says there’s a very long way to go before the end of the Championship season. The Blues climbed to first in the table on goal difference from Brighton after defeating Burnley 2-0 at Portman Road.

“Forty-three to go, roll on May!” McCarthy laughed when asked about the Blues hitting the summit after just three Championship games.

“It’s better to be there than bottom of the league, but there’s a lot of games to be played.”

He felt his side deserved to beat the Clarets: “Good result, good performance and I’m happy with both.

“We got away with them hitting the post [in the first half], that would have been a whole lot different.

“That was fortunate on our part but I think we were solid, I think it was two good teams, two very strong powerful teams, playing good football as well when we could, and it was a case of who blinked first.

“I remember 18 months ago we had the same here. I thought we had the share of the game but we lost the game because Scott Arfield scored with a header.


"It was a great bit of quality from them. And I think tonight we’ve shown that, certainly with Freddie’s goal.”

Brett Pitman came off the bench to create Sears’s goal and David McGoldrick, who scored the second, had also been introduced as a sub, illustrating the greater strength in depth available to McCarthy this season.

“We’ve been trying to do that every since I came to the club. I inherited a team with seven or eight loan players,” he recalled.

“We whittled that down the following season. The ironic thing is that two of our really outstanding players are loan players but I had to sacrifice a really good left-back for one of them and the other one is just outstanding, Ainsley, he’s fantastic.

“We haven’t got a squad of 24 or 25, I don’t really want that anyway, but what I’ve got I’m delighted with and they’re good quality.”

The Town boss says Daryl Murphy and Ryan Fraser were both replaced due to injuries: “Daryl had a tight calf and Fraser just jarred his knee in a tackle. I’ve no idea as yet [whether they’ll be doubts for the weekend], we’ll see tomorrow, I don’t know the extent of them.

“Straight after the game you can’t really tell, they’ll settle down overnight. Sometimes they come in and you think ‘How did that happen?” as they’re out training two days later. I’m hopeful that will be the case, but I don’t know.”

He says he’s not forgotten the Blues surrendering their two-goal lead in injury time at Brentford on the opening day.

“I’ve got to forget it but I can’t,” he said. “But I believe Middlesbrough were pegged back late on tonight. It’s going to happen, we’ll do it to somebody else and I hope it doesn’t happen to us again because it’s a real sickening feeling.

“But it happened and the really pleasing thing since then is that we’ve won three games, so it didn’t affect us.”

McCarthy is delighted with his four striking options and isn’t concerned when he sees other clubs looking to make big money signings, Bristol City having had a £9 million offer for Andre Gray accepted by Brentford.

“That doesn’t really faze me that, what other people are doing. Good luck to them if Steve [Cotterill] gets one.

“I think [our four strikers are incredibly strong] and Freddie’s been rewarded [with his new contract]. Fair play to Marcus.

“Freddie was on a long contract, he did the business for us last year and Marcus has rewarded him with a contract he fully deserves and reflects his status in the club, not as somebody who has come in trying to step up, he’s stepped up a gear and he’s top class. I’m delighted for him and for us that we’ve signed him.”

Burnley manager Sean Dyche said: “Up until the first goal there wasn’t much in it. We hit the post, we had a good chance through Jelle Vossen and dealt with a lot of their balls that came into the box from everywhere.

"But after the goal I thought they were the better side and they deserved to win.”


Photo: Action Images



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Wallop added 22:59 - Aug 18
Great stuff from MM, and class from Dyche too. Other Championship managers take heed please!
25

RaymondovicBlue added 23:05 - Aug 18
☺☺
0

Suffolk_n_Good added 23:08 - Aug 18
Great result tonight, well done MM, so pleased we've nailed Sears down on a longer term contract too. BTW, how the hell can Bristol City be chucking around £9million offers?!?!?! Just can't see how they can be operating within FFP. & for the life of me I don't see why Gray would want to leave Brentford for B.City......
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Suffolk_n_Good added 23:08 - Aug 18
Great result tonight, well done MM, so pleased we've nailed Sears down on a longer term contract too. BTW, how the hell can Bristol City be chucking around £9million offers?!?!?! Just can't see how they can be operating within FFP. & for the life of me I don't see why Gray would want to leave Brentford for B.City......
1

Michael11 added 23:08 - Aug 18
Brilliant result tonight. Being honest, I probably would've taken a draw tonight. The Brentford game was a sickener but I'm sure we'll do someone in the last minute Richie Chaplow style and even things up. What a fantastic job MM and TC are doing at the club. They really do deserve a huge amount of credit for giving us a club to be proud of again.
15

VulpineBlue added 23:10 - Aug 18
An excellent win against a fine team. Tremendous energy all over the park chasing and closing down. Fine team performance. Agree with Wallop- Dyche is class and Burnley do things the right way. All the best to them.
13

TractorBeezer added 23:11 - Aug 18
Well said MM.
I am really impressed with how we are doing business these days e.g. an astute proactive move to reward and tie up Freddie with minimal fuss.
Great to be a Tractor Boy!
9

wkj added 23:22 - Aug 18
That's two opposing mangers in the row who have approached defeat with class and dignity... what is the world coming to!
24

BlueandTruesince82 added 23:35 - Aug 18
I also can not belive BC can spunk 9 million on Gray. Firstly I don't think he's worth anywhere near that at this stage secondly that would put a fit DMG at what, 12?
2

CavendishBlue added 23:38 - Aug 18
Jelle Vossen

Sounds like a deep heat type of treatment....
4

itfc1981 added 23:46 - Aug 18
Sears for England after we go up.
5

marshallmania added 00:11 - Aug 19
Sears will be our player of the season, what a legend he is becoming. But Would love to see Town sign Andre Gray! On top of what I've seen so far from the team, this would surely be the player to stamp our premier league return?
-2

gippeswyk added 00:52 - Aug 19
I was at the game. Nothing in it first half. Burnley have some quality players and passed the ball really well at times, cutting Town open. Second half we wore them down. Our relentless closing down, energy levels and the class of Didzy, Pittman and Sear got the better of them and we were deserved winners. I have to say I have been critical of Tommy and Bart but the last couple of games they have been great and long may it continue.
9

muccletonjoe added 05:28 - Aug 19
Now would appear to be the time to get our new signings, surely a top of the league club is going to look more appealing to potential targets. Really well done to mm and tc, we will need every members our squad to stay up there
4

BlueSwede added 07:44 - Aug 19
Great win against a team that I think will be luring about close to the top of the table come the end of the season. Wouldn't mind seeing Burnley go back up together with us. Working within the FFP, class manager and classic team. Would be nice to see a carboncopy of the top of the top of the first division table from 1962 come May.
As for Andre Gray, I wouldn't want us to pay 9 million for him when we have the four strikers we have. Could do a lot better for that kind of money.
1

essex57 added 08:05 - Aug 19
Enjoy enjoy enjoy what a fantastic management team we've got relatively cheap team compared with some of our rivals entertaining football never say die attitude.
I wonder what all the moaners are going to do this season.
1

renoble added 08:54 - Aug 19
Great noise from North Stand Section 6 again. They have been trying to rediscover the atmosphere at PR for a few seasons now - tonight they must have made a difference to the players who, in a tight game, were backed properly. I've been in North Stand upper with my kids last couple of games and the vibe is back. Unsung heroes (wonderful irony!)
1

I_AM_GOD added 09:00 - Aug 19
As MM said, there are still 43 games to go, but the feel good factor is returning to the club more and more. This does look and feel like a team which will compete at the top this year. And not just this year, but we also see the youth players developing, less reliance on the loans than before, players happy to commit to our club.

Although, I suspect the mood would change in the fans here after a couple of defeats or bad games as it seems the mood swings far to quickly. Learn to enjoy the good times and we look forward to many more this season.
1

BackTheBlues added 09:37 - Aug 19
We were outstanding last night...
Yes Burnley are struggling a little bit with the relegation hangover, but we took full advantage and well deserved the win!
Even stevens first half, they had the best chance but after Didz (then Pitman) came on, well they're 2 classy strikers aren't they!
With the pace in Niles, Sears & Fraser (when on) it's scary how quickly we can break.
Even the football was good for a lot of spells last night!

Let's keep level headed, but I'd of taken 10 points out the opening 15 - however I think the next 2 are winnable!

Up the town!

P.S. Tommy looked great last night!
1

Slambo added 09:52 - Aug 19
Brilliant, brilliant start to the campaign. We will hit a slump at some point - every team does - but we've got the depth in the squad and the good ol' Mick McCarthy pigheadedness to make sure any slump doesn't last long...

Oh, and just been doing some sums:

Andre Gray = £9 million
Daryl Murphy, Freddie Sears, David McGoldrick, Brett Pitman = £100,000

Bristol City are making a panic signing, methinks...
2

Pendejo added 10:10 - Aug 19
It's a LONG WAY to the top if you want to rock'n'roll! and Mick knows this. August to March positions are gradually more important [unless a side develops a massive lead] and its final placings that count... just ask Derby & Wolves.

MM & Co. suffering no Down Payment Blues as they Ride On leaving Burnley Thunderstruck on the Highway to Hell to find out What's Next to the Moon and hopefully the accounts will be Back in Black.

Fair play to Sean Dyche for a level headed and reasoned post match interview. I've always liked Dyche, Burnley and Turf Moor. Good luck for the rest of the season.

Brizzle having £9m to spend on a single player!?*!?!

COYB
3

1psw1ch added 10:31 - Aug 19
Freddie the new Marcus Stewart
2

hogster1970 added 10:32 - Aug 19
But this is SHOW BUISNESS and we need a JAIL BREAK to get out of this league.

and i think we now have the players in the first team and on the fringes and in the youth set to carry out this task.

sean dyche is no mug and has built a team just like mick mac, so after a tight first half we wore them down and got 2 good poaching goals, i havnt seen the this much fire power upfront for years, and with the dogged center of midfield and pace and width down the flanks we can now play on the deck and break quick as well as the odd long ball,

althought they say MONEY TALKS we dont need to spend big, as things on the player front has now changed over the last few years as good players let there contracts run down to make them selfs more appealing to new clubs and can bargain a better weekly wage rather than a huge transfer fee.

so keep up the good work mick TC and the boys, lets try and rip this league up AND SHAKE THIS league ALL NIGHT LONG .

ps love your musical tastes pandejo, took my daughter to see the best rock band ever at Wembly in july, she now hates JLS and loves ACDC lol
0

1psw1ch added 10:32 - Aug 19
Freddie the new Marcus Stewart
0

jas0999 added 16:58 - Aug 19
Excellent words from Mick again. Agree with him regarding our strikers. Best in the league, but reading between the lines I think he is looking to strengthen elsewhere. Maybe another winger with Fraser injured? Also how refreshing to hear an opposing manager say we deserved to win! He is right of course!
1


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