Town boss Mick McCarthy says Blues owner Marcus Evans remained as supportive as ever when he spoke to him on Wednesday, despite the embarrassing 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Lincoln City on Tuesday, and doesn’t get the feeling the club wants to sack him.

“He was exactly the same,” McCarthy said. “He actually said he’d just about got over it and I said, ‘I haven’t’. That was yesterday. He said he’d just about got over it and I said, ‘I’m glad you have because I’m far from it’.

“He’s always very supportive, he’s great. He doesn’t come on and make me feel worse, that’s for sure.”

McCarthy says that while Evans has previously made his support clear publicly, it’s not something he feels he has to reiterate when the two speak.

“He knows I don’t need to hear it,” he added. “What I wouldn’t want to hear, and I’m sure other managers do get it from chairmen, is ‘why have you picked that one?’ and ‘why have you done this?’, ‘why have you done that?’, ‘why have you done the other?’ and who have got no idea about football and yet are telling you how to do it.

"That is the nice support that I’ve always had from Marcus, I don’t get that. It’s fine.”

He says he spent Wednesday at home with his family as he sought to get over the loss to the Imps: “I got to my bed about 2pm and I was up at quarter to six, didn’t sleep. I took my daughter to work, which was lovely, took her to the train station. Had a bit of a normal day, had my granddaughter, Fionnuala.

“I bought a newspaper and I bought it purposely just to read it and get it over and done with.

“I bought two papers, read what they had to say and I’ve been there, I’ve been that dragon slayer, it’s brilliant, it’s a great day.

“And I looked at it and I thought ‘fair play, they’ve got all the plaudits, they’re doing great, good luck to them, I can’t do anything about the result’. That was cathartic, that. Just got it out of my system.

“Do I listen anybody else? Do I heck. I don’t want anybody else’s opinion on it. I feel bad enough about it myself. Me and [director of football] Dave [Bowman] had a chat, me and TC had a chat, usual. I don’t go seeking anybody else’s counsel.”

McCarthy was again the subject of negative chants from the Blues’ support on Tuesday and he understands fans’ frustrations.

“I prefer it when I’m getting nice chants but it’s part of the gig,” he reflected. “It’s football now. We’ve had four years on an upward curve but we’re having a tough time. I kind of get it and if they want me sacked there’s not a great deal I can do about it.

“I’m going to continue working and be focused on trying to win games. And if it ends up that the club wants to sack me, they sack me, but I don’t get that feeling, I have to be honest.

“The position that we’re in, we’re not great but we’re 10 points above Blackburn, who we beat last week and 11 points from the play-offs.

“We’re kind of mid-table and, do you know what, that’s probably where we should be with the budget we have, compared to the ones above us.

“But it’s not great football, it’s not great results, I get it. Do I lose any sleep over it? I probably did on Tuesday, yes.

“But I’m more concerned about how I feel, not how other people feel about me. I’m more concerned about how we’re playing and the results that we get and not some people who want to say nasty things about me.

“It always gets worse, somebody else gets asked and they try and say something even nastier and it’s even more humiliating and more humbling, but I’m not bothered, I’m more concerned about how I feel about myself.”

He says it’s easier to take now than it was earlier in his career: “I remember being considerably younger at Millwall and how much it did affect me then. I think you tend to take it far more personally.

“I’ve got a bit more perspective on life and people who say things to be hurtful and I can still manage to speak to them now, whereas when I was younger I would probably have confronted them. I still might when the occasion comes.

“It’s a lot easier. Age has to bring something, surely. Whatever that is, I think ‘thank God for that’ sometimes because I wouldn’t want to be as angry now as I was when I was 37 because I was an angry man then. Occasionally it raises its head.

“But that doesn’t mean I want to win any less. It doesn’t mean that losing hurts me any less.

“It doesn’t mean that I can feel any better about being humbled and embarrassed by a National League side. I can’t.

“But I can just get my head around it a bit better and that when I do pick my granddaughter up it’s not eating away at me every single minute of every single day, that I get enjoyment out of that and then when I put her down and she’s gone off with my wife, I might be sat in the chair having a cup of tea and I’ll be snarling about it, but at least I can enjoy other things and it’s not as intense in my head as it always was.”

While he says there has been no progress on adding to his squad, he and Evans are continuing to work on incoming transfers with his one million-plus offers having been increased.

McCarthy says the two liaise regarding moves - “I am very much part of the process" - and on occasion he tells the Blues’ owner where to draw the line when it comes to a valuation.

“Sometimes that would be the case, yes,” he continued. “If somebody asked for a bonkers cost I’d say it’s not worth it.

“That’s not happened too often, I have to be honest. But in this inflated market I would hate to spend a whole load of money on somebody and find out he’s not that much better and end up having to keep him for the next three years on inflated wages. That wouldn’t be right either. But I leave it to Marcus pretty much, in terms of the valuation of players.”

He added: “I’ve always found if you ask somebody, if the answer’s no, it can’t be done asking in a different way and sort of begging. I’m not into that, believe me. If we can’t do it, we can’t do it. That’s been the same way for the last four years.”

Photo: TWTD

mattwin added 19:30 - Jan 19 This really winds me up.......Am I right in saying that our owner in his own words was over the defeat to a team 3 leagues below us in under 24 hours. That about sums it up how passionate he is towards this club. I don't think I will ever get over the defeat as I care. I was embarrassed on how bad we where and that performance will live in my memory forever for all the wrong reasons !!! He does not care and is mugging all the fans off!!!

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Mark added 19:33 - Jan 19 So ME does not get involved in the football side, yet he sets the valuation of players? Maybe that is why all bids are failing. The transfer market is inflated because the prize of the Premier League income is vast and clubs presumably take calculated risks. Speculate to accumulate. While I agree we should not pay crazy fees, we should invest proper money in young players - after all they may soon be worth the crazy fees that Mick is talking about themselves!

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brittaniaman added 19:37 - Jan 19 We all know Evans knows nothing about football, neither does his Puppet Milne and he will not sack Dino because it will cost him too much money ??? So we are left with Dino whose Team selection and Tactics are Atrocious especially on Tuesday where we made Lincoln look like a Premiership team !!! So how the Hell has he got over it so quick is unbelievable, and still no apologies to the Fans ??? We can only hope now that Dino has some sort of plan to tackle Huddersfield, probably 0-0.

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blackcat added 19:42 - Jan 19 Easy to get over anything when you don't care!
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Carberry added 19:48 - Jan 19 There is so much here that is so wrong. Director of Football Dave Bowman, can someone explain that please? He's been flying well under the radar, what has he been doing? McCarthy has mentioned him so he now obviously gets some of the blame - but what on earth does he do? Make the tea?
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rfretwell added 19:57 - Jan 19 Son tea ctap on here. "Neither of them care" says thechangingman! What does he know? Football men like Mick cant stand losing. Both care hugely. Why would ME not care? He is keeping the club afloat!.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 20:12 - Jan 19 I do get that Mick is operating under difficult conditions, but that we have been on "an upward curve for for years" is rather an optimistic assessment of our situation.
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northernblues added 20:13 - Jan 19 Dear all, please bombard his facebook page with your thoughts!
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 20:16 - Jan 19 *four
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itfcbam added 20:20 - Jan 19 I think you will see in the summer MM leaving 'by mutual consent'. That way both parties will feel they come out of the situation well. The club because it will be cheaper than sacking him (don't underestimate the cost that would be at the moment, which might be why it hasn't been done now). Also MM then leaves without being sacked. But until then............
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corfu72 added 20:30 - Jan 19 Pragmatic, People are entitled to put there point over on this site.Whether people agree with it is a matter of opinion,but insulting people is wrong. May I suggest you think before you Post.!
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toxtethblue added 20:45 - Jan 19 Thats cos he doesnt give a f×÷k about the club! Obvious. Tax breaks though... thats different...
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Ipswichbusiness added 20:52 - Jan 19 Let me try to summarise the situation. Board level management has no idea and resembles rabbits caught in the headlamps of an oncoming car. Football level management has no game plan other than to play Douglas at every opportunity. Our best player (Lawrence) doesn't belong to us. Our senior players (e.g. Chambers and Berra) are working on their exit strategies. Attendances are falling. Debts are mounting. Crisis? What crisis?

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2_Goal added 21:17 - Jan 19 Can't believe how arrogant he is. It ain't working and yet he is doing nothing about it. Is speaking to others about it, getting ideas? No. Is he looking to someone else to his coaching staff to mix it up? No. And Evans does nothing.
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2_Goal added 21:20 - Jan 19 Sorry, but this website should be doing more. Publish the poll about 80% wanting a new manager now. Run a story about the groundswell for change, about the hundreds and hundreds of fans comments / feedback. Print some of the comments in news items.
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Westy added 21:27 - Jan 19 Strikalite, I agree that it is obviously not in ME's blood if he can get over it that quickly. And not to query the team selection ? Well no, he knows nothing about football. When the Season Ticket renewals are sent out in a few weeks a lot won't renew if they think there is a chance MM will still be there next season. The Club don't seem to make any right decisions at the moment.

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Happy2bBlue added 21:33 - Jan 19 Absolutely unbelievable arrogance, these two are playing games with our club and the suffering fans. I'm out I'm afraid, my season ticket and direct debit will be cancelled tomorrow.
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armchaircritic59 added 21:55 - Jan 19 Well kulturarv, might not be the best idea to bring in Santa, he's sure to get the sack in December! Just thought i'd lighten things up a bit in these trying times! I watched the Lincoln game on tv and couldn't believe what i was watching. I think i've just about recovered. Not sure if those of you unfortunate enough to be there have!
2

Lightningboy added 22:25 - Jan 19 Sorry Mick,I don't dislike you,you're a decent bloke but you should never have been let anywhere near our club - it's only our owner's complete inability to pick (or in Magilton's case stick with) the right manager that's put you here in the first place.
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blueboy1981 added 22:33 - Jan 19 ........... the result against Lincoln obviously didn't hurt MM or ME anywhere near enough, if at all. The game was watched (or at least part of it - such was the input from ITFC .. !!!) by possibly several million people - the shameful performance from our team, will stick with these people, to the point of being a laughing stock indefinitely. Not to mention the defeat, which will go down in the history of Ipswich Town Football Club - against a non league Club, 58 or so places below us in league standing....... !!! Worst of all, is that no one seems to care other than True Blues, like some of us, and ex players i.e. Terry Butcher etc; etc; who will all be hurting big time. Shame MM and ME couldn't bring it upon themselves to feel the same...... !!! Obviously we expect too much - I THINK NOT.

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Bert added 22:48 - Jan 19 Has anyone actually noticed that the two main leads on TWTD are not replicated in any way on the official ITFC site ? TWTD has a job to do as a fans' site so it will be very happy to publish what it does to get us lot going. I get that. However, put yourself in MM's position. He is not going to sack himself or resign when his boss apparently is happy with him. That's the problem. Also for as long as Evans remains silent, MM is left to defend himself. The problem here is that TWTD allows him to rattle on and on which simply fuels those who cannot stand him. He may sound arrogant but the truth is he is being honest with us and himself whether we like it or him, or not. Anyone agree ?

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blueboy1981 added 22:54 - Jan 19 A tight budget can always be a problem - granted - but before the same old chestnut 'excuse' keeps surfacing - spare a thought for Danny Cowley - I wonder what his budget is in comparison with McCarthy's... ?? - much, much less I would suggest. In which case the so called, self assessed, McCarthy 'EXPERIENCE and EXPERTISE' - should have been more than capable of showing as superior over the two legs. Danny Cowley was, and justifiably so, head and shoulders above his opposite number on all fronts.

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GiveusaWave added 22:56 - Jan 19 unbelievably unhappy that we have to tolerate this, but we seem to have no choice. If this really is how it is the club needs to do a few things: 1- just have MM as manager. According to someone on this site, he's basically doing 3 people's jobs. Employ those people around him so he can stick to the job he needs to do. 2- examine training. Something's wrong. Are players suffering from burn-out? Fitness levels need to be examined 3- examine tactics. What are they? During games we just see players lumping it forwards. 4- get Coke and a few others out on-loan 5- invest in AT LEAST 6 players. 6- whole club needs examining from top to bottom Club needs to seriously re-evaluate everything between now and the end of the season. Investment in a Sports Psychologist would be a good idea. Players come here looking good (Ward, Sears and co) and gradually get worse. Youngsters seem to be getting worse.

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shakytown added 04:34 - Jan 20 Nothing will fix this club except complete overhaul from top to bottom. Manager has lost the plot completely and will not change. The owner and his puppet Milne have no football knowledge at all and only care about money and how they can fleece the fans. How any of these three can justify the stupidity at Ipswich beggars belief. I bet Douglas will start the next ten games just so Muck can stick his fingers up at the fans. I am starting to hope we get relegated just to devalue that moron Evans investment. Currently I see no hope at all for the club period.

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TimmyH added 11:15 - Jan 20 Deluded moron...
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