Town legend Terry Butcher believes owner Marcus Evans will eventually have to loosen the Portman Road purse strings to give the club a more realistic chance of reaching the Championship play-offs.

The Blues, currently 12th, eight points off the top six, have rarely paid significant transfer fees during Mick McCarthy’s five years-plus as manager, while their wage bill - £17.78 million in the year to June 2017 - has been around the 18th highest in the Championship in recent seasons.

"If you've only got buttons to pay, you're not going to get the quality to lift you into the play-offs," Butcher, 59, told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"Marcus Evans, sooner or later, will have to release the purse strings. Perhaps not to the extent of Wolves, but if you do buy good players and buy quality it does get you wins, it does get you goals and it does get you up the table.”

The former England captain added: ”I think there's got to be more input from the [owner].

"If Mick does go at the end of the season, any new manager is going to come and the first thing he's going to say to Marcus Evans is 'What's my war chest? How much can I spend?’.

"The manager should already be looking at signings for next year - you need that as a security and we haven't got that."

McCarthy is out of contract at the end of the season - although the club has an option to keep him for two more years - with no decision yet made on whether he will be in charge at Portman Road beyond the summer.

Speaking last Friday, McCarthy revealed he had already held talks with owner Evans about his future and said those discussions are ongoing.

Having previously indicated he might not necessarily accept a new contract if one were to be offered, McCarthy appeared more receptive to extending his time at the club, saying that there was "a good chance" he'll remain at Town if owner Evans wants him to stay.

Last week, McCarthy was the bookies' favourite to become the new Barnsley manager, a link both he and MD Ian Milne dismissed.

St Mirren boss Jack Ross is now the favourite to take over at Oakwell, the Paisley-based club reportedly having given the Tykes permission to speak to him.

Photo: TWTD

dirtydingusmagee added 10:22 - Feb 14 woohoo, I think with Evans it is not a case of objectives ,its motives,.
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Bergholtblue added 10:31 - Feb 14 If you look back, ME bought this club as he wanted to buy into the PL dream. He was reported to have looked at 4 clubs; us, Southampton; Leicester and one other. He was never a Town fan he just bought us because we the best bet (or cheapest). He knows little about football and took advice over the managers to get in. No-one thought Keane was a bad signing at the time (remember singing 'we'll never play you again to the scum?). When that went pear shaped he was guided towards Jewell. A few raised eyebrows but a good start to his campaign got him on board with the fans for a while. Then that went tits up and again he sought advice and brought in MM. Lets face it. MM worked wonders on a little budget to keep us up and even make the play offs. ME has rewarded him for that buy staying loyal, but given him no money. The blame for this mess lies with ME not MM.

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64Townman added 11:00 - Feb 14 I agreed with Terry Butcher 100% what he said, I think ME is thinking of himself he does not care anything about our great club he should put his hands in his pockets and spend money on decent players that if he want to see Ipswich back where they should be in the premiership.
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Cheshire_Blue added 11:37 - Feb 14 It is unlikely Evans is listening to the garbage that so often appears on here.
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cobboldblue added 12:34 - Feb 14 People, I stand to be corrected but aren't you all missing the point? ME gave previous managers money because he could. Since then the Football League have introduced the Financial Fair Play Rules which I understand the owner and club are adhering to. I don't think ME can inject more finances without breaking those rules. Granted other clubs may be flouting these rules but two wrongs don't make a right. Please someone correct me if I have got this wrong.

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mathiemagic added 12:39 - Feb 14 @ Currie10 - Ten million unfortunately in this day and age will not buy you enough classy players to get you out of this division. As for the MM debate. I too tire of the style of football on show these days but the fact remains, MM has never been backed so he has had to use his football knowledge to get in the kind of players that will keep us in the Championship without any real hope of anything other than the occasional flourish with the play-offs. I think he has filled his remit over the last 5 years very well. However it is time for a change and my choice would be the two lads in charge of Lincoln City. Would be a good step up for them and seem to have a more entertaining philosophy in their approach. If I was a betting man then I would suspect ME will try and activate the MM 2 year option. How MM will react to that with the fans relationship slowly going down the pan is anyone's guess. An interesting few months ahead !

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Seasider added 15:16 - Feb 14 Cobbold Blue.Yes Ipswich Owner Evans did adhere to the FFP;but the rules have been considerably relaxed for quite a while now,so Marcus cant use this as an excuse any more. When they changed I did look it up;but as it is quite a while ago now have forgotten exact details;so will Google again to refresh my memory.
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tractorboybig added 15:26 - Feb 14 If I was a dreamer could this be a hint?
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Seasider added 15:43 - Feb 14 Cobbold Blue,refreshed my memory which I share below: Amended rules came into effect in 2016,covering seasons 2016/17, 17/18 and 18/19 and is a rolling assessment.The losses each season can average out at£13m or £39 over the 3 years. However if these losses are not covered by the owner,then the loss allowed is only £5m (£15m over 3 yr period). Assessments are now carried out in March rather than December as previously. You will therefor see from the above that Marcus Evans is well within these limits so could increase spending considerably if he wanted to,thats if he could afford it.( maybe asset rich but cash poor)

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cobboldblue added 16:36 - Feb 15 Seasider - thank you for your posts enlightening me on the relaxation of the FFP rules which I had missed out on. So yes If ME is allowed under FFP rules to invest more than he currently is it does beg the question why doesn't he?
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