O’Neill a shoo-in, insists Big Mick
McCarthy, who previously held the position from 1996 until 2002, has been second favourite behind O’Neill since Trapattoni’s departure and says he wasn’t too shocked to hear his name mentioned in connection with the role.
“I’m not surprised because I did a good job the last time,” he said. “But Martin O’Neill’s getting the job as far as I’m aware, absolutely nailed on, a shoo-in for it.
“I think he’s a perfect choice for them. He’s had success wherever he’s been. He has that affinity with the Celtic fans, who all support the Republic of Ireland, and he has a real affinity with the paymasters as well, with Denis O’Brien, the guy who funds it. So it strikes me as the perfect fit. And he is a damn good manager.”
O’Neill, who has been out of work since being sacked by Sunderland in March, has an excellent pedigree despite his unhappy spell at the Stadium of Light, believes McCarthy.
“He’s just a good manager, a manager of football teams and football players,” he said. “That’s what he’s proved to be over his career, whether that was at Wycombe, at Leicester, at Celtic.
“We all have a tough time sometimes, he had a tough one at Sunderland. Even Martin has said he still thought they would have been okay and I believe that would have been the case.
“That one little blip doesn’t change him. At Villa he had a great time. Everybody wanted him. Not that long ago, any job in the country which came up Martin was touted for.
“It didn’t matter what it was, they thought he was the heir apparent at Manchester United at one stage.”
What happens in the unlikely event that O’Neill turns the job down?
“Why would I pre-empt something which [isn’t going to happen]?
“My understanding is that Martin’s got it. I’m not looking for it.
“I prefer to make my decisions when somebody asks me the question, not a journalist. If somebody does ask me the question, what will I do? I haven’t got a bleeding clue.”
The 54-year-old admits he would like to be Ireland manager again one day, but says he’s currently happy at Portman Road.
“I’m contracted to Ipswich and I’m loving the job I’m doing. In time I hope we can get to the Premier League with Ipswich.
“Behind Jack [Charlton] I think I probably did as well, if not better, than anybody else.
“I’ve been quoted before, it’s a job I’d love to do again. I had success with it and I loved every minute of it.”
He says the subject of the Ireland job hasn’t come up in his recent discussions with the Ipswich owner, Dublin-based businessman Marcus Evans.
“I just spoke to him before I came in here and it was never mentioned. I like Marcus for his pragmatic nature. If I went to him and said, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore’, I think he’d be the first to say, ‘what’s the point of doing it?’. But that’s not the case, I get on great with him.”
While he says he has no intention of leaving the club currently placed 16th in the Championship, he admits there was a clause in his contract which allowed him to take the Ireland job without Ipswich receiving compensation if the offer had come in before the start of the season.
“I had an agreement with Marcus. It’s no longer there, so it makes no odds now,” he said. “I also had an agreement that if we went down that Marcus would get shot of me or I could get shot of myself.
“When I took the job in November and we were rock bottom, everything was a bit unsure, so I thought it was right that I asked for that if it came up. Who knows, it was coming to the end of [Trapattoni’s] term, it might have all changed by then. But it wasn’t fair that it went into the season, once the season started then I’m the manager here, so I think that tells you what sort of feeling I had towards it and the loyalty I have towards being employed. I didn’t ask it to go to the end of the [World Cup] qualification.”
He says Trapattoni’s exit came as no surprise given the ongoing speculation and feels it would have been tough on the Italian if he had been sacked after Euro 2012, as has been suggested.
“It was a great achievement getting them there,” he recalled. “The night in Russia when Shay Given and Richard Dunne played so well and they got a draw and then to qualify. I think it was quite correct and proper that he was given the chance to go into this campaign. And they were robbed of an opportunity against France with Thierry Henry’s handball. They weren’t winning the game and it still didn’t mean they were going to win it, but I thought that was a really good campaign that Giovanni had.”
McCarthy sees similarities between criticism levelled at the Italian and what was aimed at him near to the end of his time as Ireland boss.
“Just go back and troll through the reports of when I left,” he said. “As somebody who took them from 40-odd in the world to 13th, to within an ass’s roar of a penalty kick to go into the quarter-final of the World Cup, go and have a look, see what they said about me. It’s not fair. If you don’t win, it’s not fair. It’s about winning, it’s about qualifying, that’s what it is. And you know what? It’ll be the same here if results don’t pick up!”
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