Ex-boss Mick McCarthy has expressed his sympathy with his former Town players facing “hefty wage cuts” once relegation to League One is confirmed and insists he doesn’t want to stick two fingers up to his critics at Portman Road following the Blues' disastrous campaign.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the week in his new role as Republic of Ireland manager McCarthy, who left Town last April after five and a half years at the club, was asked whether the Blues’ season has made him want to give two fingers to his critics in Suffolk.

“Not at all,” he said. “The people who booed I say, well, sometimes you get what you deserve. Be careful what you wish for.

“I still say that the majority of Ipswich Town fans were supportive of me. That’s the biggest part of it.

“I’ve no axe to grind with Marcus Evans or the club. I’ve still got very good relationships with everybody, some really good friends there.

“It summed it up for me when Joe Garner got the equaliser against Wigan and I texted him to say, ‘Well done, bet that pleased you today’ and he came back to me and he said, ‘No gaffer, I was speaking to Chambo [Luke Chambers] today and they all have wage cuts if they go down, and I feel for him’.

“And he is a centre forward who has just scored the equaliser and I get his sentiments. I have got players there who played for me who are going to take hefty wage cuts playing in League One, if that’s where they end up. So, no I don’t want to put two fingers up to them at all.”

Relegation clauses are understood to have been inserted into most if not all of the senior Town players’ contracts with the Blues facing a significant loss of income in League One. TV money will be down by around £6 million while other revenue streams are also likely to be hit.

Reflecting further on Town this season with attendances having been up despite the league position, perhaps a touch ruefully, McCarthy added: “Well, they seem to enjoy it. There were 23,000 there the other night [at the Reading match], singing and dancing, so you know…”

Photo: Action Images

Sm00411 added 14:57 - Mar 10 “It summed it up for me when Joe Garner got the equaliser against Wigan and I texted him to say, ‘Well done, bet that pleased you today' What's McCarthy even trying to suggest here? Garner had his most prolific season in the Championship here and he wasn't forced out. He wanted to leave to move closer to his family. Fairplay to Garner for not fueling McCarthy's anti-Ipswich agenda. McCarthy still hasn't managed a game of football since he left us. He should be focusing on not sending ROI into decline rather than us.

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positivity added 15:02 - Mar 10 look up bitter in the dictionary, and there'll be a picture of mccarthy, garner comes out of this well though, good on him!
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warktheline added 15:06 - Mar 10 Nothing more damning of a manager's tenure than supporters willingly accepting relegation rather than another season under his 'negative influence'! The jokes on you McCarthy 🤣....enjoy your part time employment !
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Wooly74 added 15:26 - Mar 10 It does make me laugh reading some of the comments on here. MM in my opinion kept us up much longer than possible and should be thanked for that. People have very short memories with regards to the position of the team when he took over 7 points adrift at the bottom. You only have to see how hard it has been for PL to try and turn it around to appalled MM for doing it that first year in charge. I was equally saying on here be careful what you wish for wanting him removed, but then opinions are like ar*eholes, everyone has one. What is the biggest concern is how long are we likely to be in league 1? For me it's going to be several years and I really hope I'm wrong, but unless we go out and buy proven regular goal scorers we are doomed to become another Coventry, Swindon, Blackpool and that hurts like hell!

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Toperz added 15:41 - Mar 10 Mick McCarthy was a magician with what he did at Ipswich, unfortunately some people wanted him out and to see more goals, them morons got both their wishes.
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bahri added 15:54 - Mar 10 Worst thing the club ever did was appoint him as manager
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blueboy1981 added 16:19 - Mar 10 ....... he will always have a chip on his shoulder with losing his job here (which he did, NOT by choice) - he took liberties with his non respect for Supporters (yes, ALL of us) - it backfired on him. Best job in Football he had had for years - he now realises what he lost. Where was the 'so called queue of Clubs' that were waiting to employ him - another reality check for some of you, and HIM. In the grand scheme of things - what sort of job has he got now in the game ? - no disrespect to the FAI. Concentrate on what you've got McCarthy - NOT US. And while you're at it, maybe a good idea to change your style, in more ways than just the game.

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ITFCsince73 added 16:33 - Mar 10 Blueboy. Losing The 1m per year contract is his biggest chip. The highest paid manger in the Championship by some distance. No wonder he thought nothing of giving poor players 10 grand a week. Even the serious injury prone and high risk such as Tom. Wow the money that player will have earnt by the time he leaves. Many others as well, Coke being one more example.
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braveblue added 16:37 - Mar 10 He has no class. In a temp job because no one offered him anything. 23,000 there because they enjoy it and there is a connection. Can't expect the moron to understand.
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Dissboyitfc added 17:23 - Mar 10 “I still say that the majority of Ipswich Town fans were supportive of me. That's the biggest part of it. Do the maths, the fans were staying away in there thousands! He is a legend,, in his own mind! I used to thank him for saving us, now I think maybe we would have been better of going down! We would be on our way to recovery now! Thanks for nothing Mick,
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Dissboyitfc added 17:25 - Mar 10 I don't feel sorry for the players at all, it's the back room staff I feel for! Some of the players get in a week what other people slog all year for!
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Michael101 added 17:40 - Mar 10 On dear,just when we thought we had heard the last of him,he go and opens his big Yorkshire gob.nobody give a sh😢t about you just victory oscar.
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Michael101 added 17:47 - Mar 10 foxtrott oscar.
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GatesofDelirium added 18:09 - Mar 10 There are some VERY thin-skinned fans on here! Our most successful manager since Magilton answers a question with his characteristic honesty and some of you get hyper-defensive instead of reading between the lines and realizing MM is still resentful that he was squeezed out of a job (and a paycheque) he loved by a majority of fans. Those fans believe they have won. I'm not so sure. It is conceded that we would not have been relegated under MM. And it is just as likely that we will do a Coventry as a Leeds when we enter the third tier. And this is why fans of this great club remain divided. I appreciate PL's effort to involve fans and ex-players as well the community - sorely lacking during MM's tenure. If we are successful and promoted playing exciting football, whatever MM says will not get a reaction. If, however, we labour in the third tier, like we have in the second for more than the past decade, he will continue to reanimate the vitriolic amongst us. To unify the club we need to move on, we need to start winning...

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therein61 added 18:39 - Mar 10 The Gob will just not go away apart from one minor purple patch in his tenure he did nothing apart from antagonise the fans(who paid his ridiculously over inflated salary)and gave his proper underperforming blokes a wage that really took the p1ss His removal was at least 2 years overdue and held the club back!! for all his blowing and trumpeting(and fan hating)thinking he was bigger than our club he is now a caretaker for a few months!!!! That Mick lovers sums him up he had to take a caretaker job to keep himself in the limelight for a little while because as he has not had many pundit jobs since Town booted him and rightly so, just do one you sad excuse for a manager.

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VILJOEN67 added 18:47 - Mar 10 We have got what we wished for. Some attacking attractive football and a manager who gets the culture of the club.
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Dolphinblue added 18:48 - Mar 10 Hmmm...not sure Ireland would have given him the job if he was a bad manager. Was time to kove on but he did well at ipswich and l think after toxic approach from some fans he deserves to gloat abit. We move on and will bounce back and l have been entertained by ipswich in the last few games. Bring on league one COYB!
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Saxonblue74 added 19:16 - Mar 10 Such a devisive character. Interesting to see that my comment earlier on this article has had 15 votes and almost 50:50. It's my opinion that the "outers" shouted loudest and continue to do so.
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Juggsy added 19:32 - Mar 10 McCarthy is just bitter because at recent games he attended he saw what the support would have been like for him if he hadn't had such a 'them against us' siege mentality. Lambert is a Blue, McCarthy is a .....
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boysof1981 added 19:38 - Mar 10 I'm glad they're facing pay cuts, there isn't one player who is deserving of their wages this season. Maybe it'll be a wake up call for most, or they'll be off when the season is over.
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boysof1981 added 19:38 - Mar 10 I'm glad they're facing pay cuts, there isn't one player who is deserving of their wages this season. Maybe it'll be a wake up call for most, or they'll be off when the season is over.
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Argyle_blue added 19:55 - Mar 10 Haha. More ramblings from the bitter has been. Truth is his strategy of galvanising the players by turning them against their own fans was a foolish strategy that was always going to end with hi. Going and was like a cancer for this club. Why even report this nonsense?
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:08 - Mar 10 North-stand77 ,he IS bitter and classless !
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Northstandveteran added 20:08 - Mar 10 Because Argyle blue, Being in the position the team is in, reports about the match and Lambert's post match words get less comments than a meaningless story about MM. We get a McCarthy story every now and then to rile the fans, get the posts, thus keeping the advertisers happy. God I'm cynical.
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BrianTablet added 20:16 - Mar 10 What a loathsome, classless thing to say.
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