Reading are reportedly eyeing Blues boss Mick McCarthy as a potential successor to Jaap Stam should the Dutchman lose his job at the Madejski Stadium, while Sheffield Wednesday and West Brom are also claimed to be potential suitors for the Town manager, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

According to a rather speculative piece in the Daily Mail, the Royals, currently 18th in the Championship, are long-time admirers of McCarthy along with a number of other clubs and the 59-year-old would be in their thoughts if they were to sack Stam.

In addition to Reading, the Owls are said to be monitoring developments, while West Brom could also view him as a potential successor to Alan Pardew if they are relegated, despite Blues’ boss’s history with their rivals Wolves.

Although McCarthy's terms with the Blues are up in the summer, owner Evans has an option to keep him for two more years.

Speaking on Friday, McCarthy said he believes it’s more likely that Evans will ask him to stay on at Portman Road than let him depart after five and a half years in charge, despite the majority of fans calling for a change.

He added that he expected to talk to Evans about his future "over the next three or four weeks".

Photo: Action Images

marcus1642 added 16:53 - Feb 26 Speculative being the optimal word here.
5

JimmyJazz added 16:56 - Feb 26 Get that contract on the table and signed ASAP.
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brainbox added 16:56 - Feb 26 Willing and available to act as a taxi service to any destination who may wish to take MM off our hands...
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NottsTractor added 16:59 - Feb 26 I am led to believe that agents are often responsible for this type of ''source'' in order to drive up the leverage of their client whether that is with their curent employer i.e. increased terms or a '541T or get off the pot' approach to getting an extended contract or putting out feelers with new employers. That said I believe in alot of unlikely things such as a saeson like '81 happening again.

2

Essexnblue added 17:00 - Feb 26 All 3 mentioned are bigger clubs than us, what does that tell you about McCarthys stock within the footballing world.
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SheptonMalletBlue added 17:06 - Feb 26 I always hate these stories because they raise my hopes, and then they are dashed!!!!!
40

Smithy added 17:07 - Feb 26 Majority Phil, surely not!!
4

jas0999 added 17:07 - Feb 26 Good move all round if he joined any of them. Would receive significant backing - certainly more appropriate levels of spending than Evans provides. Whilst, atmosphere at PR remains somewhat toxic as relationship between mamGer and fans hits low. A change would be great for all parties.
24

WestSussexBlue added 17:08 - Feb 26 Reading, Bigger than Town?? How'd you work that out.
26

Mullet added 17:09 - Feb 26 Must be some mistake
0

artsbossbeard added 17:12 - Feb 26 This is madness. He's rubbish. Some wheelie bin cleaners in NSL said so, so it must be true.
-10

rodthegasman added 17:22 - Feb 26 As the saying goes,be careful what you wish for.i can understand how some of you feel,but mm has never had the money to spend on quality players.evans is the problem,he has no interest in our club.i would like to see him given money to spend in the close season.then let's see what he can do.there are a lot of teams out there in a worse state than us.45years a town fan and always will support them.we aren't a club with the money complete with the top teams at the moment.we have a great ground just need money invested on players.

-18

carlo88 added 17:27 - Feb 26 My best mate is a Wednesday fan and he would love MM there now. The man is highly rated throughout football. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I've seen poor Ipswich sides under Mick and I've seen very negative sides too, but I've never seen a team that doesn't give its all and fight to the end. That is worth a lot, particularly after watching Arsenal yesterday. I'd be happy for another couple of years under him.

-9

Radlett_blue added 17:28 - Feb 26 Barnsley seemed more likely than any of these, didn't it?
5

Cotton_eyed_joe added 17:28 - Feb 26 I'm fed up with the excuse that Mick has never had the money. Its Mick decision to play boring tactics for a nil nil/sneak a win and to play defensive when attacking options are available. The lack of money doesn't come into it.
56

Popeye added 17:39 - Feb 26 Anyone who thinks MM is a sh1te manager who wouldn't get another job if he left Ipswich is deluded. He wouldn't be out of a job for very long. He's got a record of getting former clubs promoted and chairmen would look at his record of keeping town in the championship on one of the smallest budgets in the league. If he'd been given more money Town would probably be a top six side.

-11

ArnieM added 17:40 - Feb 26 McCarthy is playing mind games with the media and Town fans. The sooner is gone the better for all concerned.
42

Kesblue66 added 17:42 - Feb 26 One of them please.Then i will go back again.
14

Rammo added 17:53 - Feb 26 Some good clubs mentioned and he'd do well with money to spend, but as is so often the case it's just rumours likely spread by agents looking to get a deal done rather than actual facts. Not forgetting it's the Daily Fail............
7

blue75 added 17:53 - Feb 26 I wish him luck where ever he goes just as long as he goes. It's gone stale here he's fell out with the minority, (74%) of town fans has no interest in entertaining the fans! whatever he spent in the summer he'd still play for a point and hope to nick the win. Maybe he'd go to somewhere else and get promoted maybe he'd get relegated. I just think we both need to go our separate ways.

28

H1960 added 18:01 - Feb 26 Excellent news...........if true
22

RoyalAscotBlue added 18:03 - Feb 26 Being able to survive in the Championship on a low budget is one thing, but that doesn't make him a great manager. If he was a great manager then Premier League teams would want him... They don't. If he had the same budget as Pep he would not get into the top half of the Premiership, he would probably only manage to just about beat the drop. He does not know how to set a team to be positive, he never has. He only knows how to set a team up to be defensive. I don't want Ipswich Town Football Club to merely survive in the Championship... I wish for more. I want us to try something different. If it fails and we get relegated then so be it, at least then we would be operating in a league that suits our budget. What we have currently is absolutely dreadful, which makes it not worth having at all. We need a new manager that is interested in more than just simply stopping the opposition from playing.

43

massivemole added 18:05 - Feb 26 Sorry mullet, fat fingers. Hurry up and move on Dick, sorry Mick
0

black_shuck added 18:08 - Feb 26 They whose guilt within their bosom lies, imagine every eye beholds their blame.
3

bressinghamblue added 18:15 - Feb 26 What the black_shuck??!!
4

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