McCarthy Ipswich bound

Former Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy is set to be named new manager of Championship’s bottom side Ipswich Town, who parted company with Paul Jewell last week.

McCarthy will be joined at Portman Road by his former Wolves assistant Terry Connor, while former Ipswich skipper Matt Holland, who played for Ireland under McCarthy, will also be part of his coaching staff.

The 53-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Wolves in February, having spent six years at Molineux.

McCarthy had previously been linked with a return to the Republic of Ireland hotseat, a post he held between 1996 and 2002, when it appeared Giovanni Trapattoni’s time was up in the aftermath of the 6-1 mauling to Germany at the Aviva Stadium earlier this month.

However, the Italian got a reprieve, leaving McCarthy on the sidelines.

McCarthy has proved pedigree at Championship level having led Sunderland and Wolves to promotion in the past. He has led all his three clubs as a manager to the Championship play-offs and won promotion as champions with Sunderland and Wolves. However, his immediate priority at Portman Road will be to lift the Tractor Boys off the bottom of the table — a mammoth task given they have won just one of their opening 13 Championship matches and are five points from safety.

McCarthy is expected to be in charge of Town in time for Saturday’s game at Birmingham.