No silver lining on Mick’s unhappy 25th anniversary

Former Ireland boss Mick McCarthy endured a disappointing 25th anniversary in management, as his Ipswich side were comfortably beaten 3-1 at Cardiff City on Saturday and he admitted afterwards that the Blues are in a Championship relegation scrap.

Despite skipper Luke Chambers having put Town in front, Kenneth Zohore scored twice and Joe Bennett once to give the Bluebirds, managed by McCarthy’s former Barnsley team-mate Neil Warnock, a deserved win, leaving the Suffolk side 17th, five points off the relegation zone.

“We were well beaten,” conceded McCarthy, whose team face crucial back-to-back home games against fellow strugglers Birmingham and Wigan after the international break, having won just one of their last 13 in all competitions.