ALL THE SIGNALS SAY TIME TO PACK UP, MICK

AS ODDS tumbled on Mick McCarthy becoming the next manager of Barnsley, social media teemed with gleeful Ipswich fans.

Some claimed the Yorkshireman had ruined their club. Others offered to drive McCarthy to Oakwell.

Though it’s hardly representative of all Ipswich fans, discord is growing. After five years, the 59year-old has clearly outstayed his welcome.

Supporters are sick of watching industrial football. Sick of parking the bus. Sick of slogging in mid-table. They aren’t stupid, or ungrateful. They know that ditching a man who delivered three top-ten finishes on a shoestring budget is fraught with risk.

They know the gruel served up at Portman Road is – in large part – the result of chronic under-investment. But they are bored. They want to see something – anything – different, even if that means a League One reboot.

And, with owner Marcus Evans absent, impervious and essential to survival, the manager is all they can hope to change.

McCarthy, never one to duck a fight, knows all this perfectly well. It is why he has no intention of signing a new deal when his contract expires in May.

But, if those simmering rumours of interest from Barnsley come to the boil, the former Republic of Ireland manager should pack his bags and take up that offer of a lift.

Because his final months at Ipswich promise to be about as gratifying and enjoyable as a loveless marriage.