Town owner Marcus Evans says it’s unlikely that the new Blues boss will be appointed before the end of the season. Last night Mick McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor left the club with Bryan Klug put in temporary charge for the final four matches.

“Appointing a manager is one of the most important - if not the most important - decision an owner of a football club will make,” Evans told the club site.

“I have started the process but I will take all the time I need to find the right person.

“A lot can happen around the end of the season with managers so I want to be in the best position I can be before making an appointment.

“I can’t rule it out completely but I don’t envisage confirming our next manager until the season is finished.”

A number of the potential candidates for the job - including former skipper and coach Tony Mowbray - are currently in work and are unlikely to be in a position to decide on their futures before the end of the season.

Lincoln boss Danny Cowley remains the bookies' favourite, 5-2 with Bet Victor, ahead of Blackburn manager Mowbray at 10-1, while other possible contenders such as Shrewsbury's Paul Hurst and Wigan's Paul Cook, both 16-1, also still have something riding on their seasons with their current clubs, as have Luton's Nathan Jones and St Mirren's Jack Ross, both 25-1.

Following the departure of Mick McCarthy, Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans will be speaking on-camera for the very first time in an interview that will be made available to all #itfc supporters. pic.twitter.com/JTAyvk529B

— Ipswich Town FC (@Official_ITFC) April 11, 2018

Former Blues striker Shefki Kuqi, currently without a club and at 12-1, is among those to have formally applied for the job, while it's understood ex-Reading manager Jaap Stam, 33-1, is also one of those in the running. Another Dutchman, VVV-Venlo's Maurice Steijn, has been repeatedly linked.

It's understood Town are keen to look at recruiting from the younger crop of up and coming managers rather than a more senior figure.

Former England manager Steve McClaren, 10-1, and ex-Rangers, Brentford and Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton, 14-1, have been linked by the tabloids.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was at Griffin Park to watch Saturday's game against Brentford, is also believed to be interested but appears very much an outsider having been sacked by Northampton recently, while Leicester City assistant boss Michael Appleton, 25-1, is another who could apply to become only the 16th full-time manager in the club's history.

Ex-loanee David Unsworth, 25-1, is also said to be keen but again would be a surprise choice given his lack of first-team management experience.

Portuguese boss José Gomes claimed he was in "early negotiations" with Town earlier in the week but again seems very unlikely to be in contention.

Photo: Action Images

delias_cheesy_flaps added 04:12 - Apr 12 Personally it has to be Maurice Steijn, he fits the bill perfectly for Evans (used to a small budget) and for us fans as his teams play attacking football and his philosophy is let the other team worry about us!
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Dissboyitfc added 07:37 - Apr 12 Cook Jones Hurst or Steijn but not Cowley!
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cat added 09:03 - Apr 12 I completely get that there are posters on here who are gutted about the departing McCarthy, as well as posters like myself who are over the moon. It's now time to move on, embrace the change and get behind your club. What completely gets on my tits are the newly founded“wait and see where we're at this time next season brigade”, roughly translated, we're doomed without MM. ‘Suffolkboy' is a prime example of the latest craze that's sweeping the site, consisting of a mixture of bitterness with a sprinkling of sour grapes, cause for posters with that mentality it's a lose, lose. Yes your point might be proved right, but at what cost? the demise of your club, sweet thinking, I think not. I started posting on here for no other reason than McCarthy's awful, dour and spoiling tactics, it don't fit with our traditions or the way I like football to be played, nothing what so ever against Mick the man, I personally liked the bloke as I said on numerous occasions. I have no issues with Evans at the top, or Milne our M/D who in all honesty is more like a P/A. There will be posters on here who will be made up when the new manager is appointed and those who ain't, that's life, but from my perspective whoever it is, I will give him time, purchase a ST with no other expectations than the sheer hope of some ENTERTAINMENT, cause that's what football at our current level should be all about.

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TimmyH added 09:55 - Apr 12 Gcon - that's exactly why Evans extended his contract back in 2016 regardless of the bilge on the pitch!! - not sure where you get figures for expenditure over 5 years?...how can you have a table over that period that covers smaller teams that have been relegated?
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BlueBlood90 added 10:22 - Apr 12 I don't understand how people are so adamant Maurice Steijn is the man for the job when you can guarantee they know nothing about him and never seen his teams play. I'd be happy enough giving him a go but I find it strange how so many people are desperate for him.
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davidjohnsonitfc added 10:26 - Apr 12 Graham potter Östersunds FK ,
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