Mick: I’d be back in a heartbeat

Former Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy says he would return to the club ‘in a heartbeat – if he was looking for a job.

McCarthy is out of contract at Ipswich Town in the summer, and has endured a fraught relationship with the club’s fans in recent weeks. The 58-yearold had a threeyear spell at the Stadium of Light between 2003 and 2006, guiding the Black Cats to the second-tier play-offs and an FA Cup semi-final, then the Championship title, before being sacked with the club bottom of the Premier League on the way to a 15-point finish.

He’s played down talk of him returning to Wearside to replace Simon Grayson because he is still under contract at Portman Road, but admits it’s a job he’d be interested in having again.

“I’m contracted here,” McCarthy (pictured) told the East Anglian Times when asked if a return to Sunderland might interest him.

“Maybe if I was out of contract... Oh yeah, if I was out of contract, and I was free and available, then, yes, I’d go back in a heartbeat because I loved my time there.

“But I’m not out of contract, I’m not free and available, so, no, I wouldn’t be going back. I’m not looking for any other jobs. I’m not interested in that.

“But when I’m free and available, yes, I will be looking for another job and Sunderland would interest me, of course it would.”