Under-fire McCarthy demands response
Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy is feeling the heat – ahead of the start of the Sky Bet Championship season.
The former Sunderland manager watched his men succumb to a 6-1 friendly thrashing at League One side Charlton Athletic on Saturday, and McCarthy is seekiing a reaction from his men going into this weekend’s league opener at home to Birmingham.
“We’ll be alright, and that performance doesn’t reflect the feeling in the club at the minute,” said McCarthy.
“Maybe a reality check isn’t the worst thing to get, and everybody will ask if it brings the mood down, but I’d like to think it would go the opposite way.
“I’d rather they are running around, making tackles, competing far better, and they will be.
“We’ve had an unnatural disaster. We have had a disrupted pre-season with injury and illness but that still does not excuse that performance.
“They didn’t do it on purpose, and they’re not a lacklustre bunch, so I’d expect a reaction without having to drag them in just because I feel angry because that’s not the right thing to do.”
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