There may be trouble ahead... and Bluebirds boss McCarthy knows it
CARDIFF City manager Mick McCarthy admits that he will be “in trouble” if his side loses an eighth straight game when Middlesbrough visit this weekend.
The Bluebirds lost their seventh successive game on Wednesday night, losing 2-0 to Fulham at Craven Cottage, which has seen the pressure pile on McCarthy this week.
For many, the manager’s position is untenable now, regardless of what happens against Boro on Saturday.
It seems rather unthinkable, however, that the club would allow him to continue as manager if he loses an eighth game in a row.
And while the manager said that the situation regarding his future is not in his hands, he admitted that a defeat against Cardiff hero Warnock would present him an almighty problem.
“I can’t answer that question,” McCarthy said in his pre-match press conference when asked if the game is win or bust. “I just prepare for the game. I just concentrate on the game.
“If I can get a performance out of the lads, then we can win the game. If we don’t, I’ll be at the end of another defeat and I’ll be in trouble, won’t I?
“Everybody else keeps building it up as my last game, I’ve no idea, I can’t tell you.”
The atmosphere among the fan base has turned incredibly sour this week, after defeats by arch-rivals Swansea City and Marco Silva’s Fulham, and the discontent has been voiced loudly.
McCarthy quipped that his opposite number Warnock would “get a better welcome than I will” this weekend, with the latter’s miraculous exploits in the Welsh capital now a distant memory.
It has left some supporters disillusioned and consequently not wanting to go to the stadium this weekend, especially after negative tactics and some questionable team selection in recent weeks.
When asked about to give a message to Cardiff fans potentially considering not turning up this weekend due to drab football, McCarthy replied: “I have to be honest, I haven’t enjoyed watching it, because we’ve not played very well, except for Reading and
Fulham – and we lost in both games there.
“But that’s their choice. They are the supporters of the club. I can’t make them come down.
“I’ll try to make sure we get a good performance. I can’t make us win, but I can try and get a better performance out of the team so we do win. If they are here I hope they enjoy it. If not, I hope we do enough to entice them to come back.”
When asked if it was the manager’s job to produce entertaining football, McCarthy simply replied: “I’ve never been sacked for winning games. Ever.”