McCarthy: I've Heard Nothing from West Brom Thursday, 5th Apr 2018 17:37 Town boss Mick McCarthy says he’s not heard anything from West Brom, who have been linked with a move for him and reiterated that he will be seeing out his contract and staying at Portman Road for the remainder of the season. Asked whether he had heard anything from the Championship-bound Baggies, who parted company with Alan Pardew at the weekend, McCarthy said: “I guess you have to ask that question, don’t you? But in asking it you know there’s as much chance of me telling you as me flying out this room on a jetpack, even if I had. “But no, I haven’t. It’s nice to be linked. Is it just convenient? I’ve just announced that I’m coming out of work, West Brom are getting relegated and apparently they’re looking for an experienced Championship manager. “Well, I cover those bases, but that doesn’t mean to say that they’re going to come and ask me.” While the Hawthorns club’s technical director Nick Hammond was at Monday’s game against Millwall, the West Midlands media is reporting that McCarthy, a former boss of West Brom’s greatest rivals Wolves, isn’t among their targets. Would he be up for receiving an approach from another club during the final weeks of his Blues contract? “Well I would hope if they did [owner Marcus Evans] wouldn’t want his compensation which has been in the contract for the last few years, that would be a little bit unfair.” Having seemed somewhat downbeat on Monday and appearing likely to step down with immediate effect, McCarthy says he’s now used to the situation and reaffirmed that he will be staying in charge until the final day. “Yes I am,” he insisted. “You [the media] ask me questions and I give you straightforward, honest answers and then you all go away and twist it for some reason, you put two and two together and come up with five sometimes, I think. “I’ve never experienced this in 26 years as a manager. I’ve never had to do this. And so I have found it really, really strange. “The first couple of days was a bit difficult, it was just unusual. I can’t describe it any other way. But I’m over that now, that’s gone, I’ve got my head around it and after Monday it was terrific.” Has he spoken to owner Evans since their conversation eight days ago which led to the announcement that McCarthy would be departing when his contract is up in the summer? “I spoke to him before the Birmingham game, that’s the only time I’ve spoken to him. He knows I’ll cope with it, I’m not seeking therapy here. “It’s an unusual time, I could have just come in and said, ‘It’s fine, it’s great’ and you’d have all known I was lying anyway because I’m pretty much an open book, when it comes it comes to my feelings I just let you know how they are.” McCarthy says he thoroughly enjoyed the Millwall match, which he said reminded him of happier times during his Portman Road tenure. “I loved it on Monday, it was terrific,” he said. “It was like days of old, when I first came in and for the first three years. “It was fantastic, the atmosphere was great. I thought we started really well and should have been in front and then a goal against the run of play sort of killed the atmosphere a bit but then the Millwall fans kept it going, so that was brilliant. “And then the second half performance from our lads got our fans going and two quick goals was brilliant. “The atmosphere was fab, I loved it and it just makes me remember how good it was and what a great club and how much I’ve enjoyed it. That was thrilling for me on Monday. “And then, of course, they have chances in the second half. We had a couple to win it as well, but didn’t find the right cross, Bart played great, they hit the post. It made for an unbelievably exciting game. “But I have to tell you, you can have those exciting games, I’ll take a boring 1-0 win all over all of them. Sorry! We could have got beaten, Neil Harris said himself they could have scored seven and I’ve watched it this morning, Bart was unbelievable. “They’re great those games, they’re fantastic but if you’re going to win the league, you’ve got to have the other side of it as well. “Our lads were great because they were knackered, we’d played on Saturday. I loved it, I really enjoyed the game.” Is it hard for him knowing that his assistant Terry Connor will also be leaving the club as a result of McCarthy’s own exit? “It is, but we know that,” he said. “When we came in he’d actually been sacked the day I got sacked at Wolves, his bags were all packed but, of course, then when they couldn’t get a manager he had to come out and ended up getting the job for 12 games. “I said to him, ‘I hope you haven’t got a secret formula, lad, that you’ve been keeping quiet!’. “You always know. I inherited Terry at Wolves and he’s been brilliant, he’s a fabulous coach, a great assistant manager. What I don’t see, he does and what I don’t hear he does, and vice versa. “But it is sad because he loses his job. But he kind of knows if I get one he’s coming with me, so it’s not such a bad thing. “And I have to say, staying on after I’ve gone, which he did with StÃ¥le Solbakken at Wolves, was the most horrible experience anyway because they didn’t want him. You end up being there but you’re not there, you’re just like a spare part. “That would be the worst thing, that is even worse still, somebody coming in and you’ve been second in command, a real confidante of the manager, you’ve advised the manager, all the players would support you and then somebody else comes in and suddenly you’re not involved and nobody would listen to your opinion or talks to you. I think he’d sooner come with me, to be quite honest.” Asked whether anyone else is in the same position as Connor, such as director of football (effectively chief scout) Dave Bowman, he added: “Dave’ll be doing it and will do it as long as he sees fit. If I get a job, then I’m sure he’ll come with me. “But he enjoys it and I think he’s quite happy to stay and help out, as far as I can gather. There was only us three that came in, there’s nobody else.”
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