Time has come for McCarthy to resign

IT is time for Mick McCarthy to make the ultimate sacrifice for the team he loves and resign from his position as team manager of Ireland.

The crazy events of the past five days have confirmed for me that the legacy of Saipan and the negative effects of a media campaign designed to unsettle him have reached the point where the only sensible course for him is to move on.

This conclusion does not engender any sense he should be forced out of the job he has filled with considerable success over the past six years.