Jack Byrne unable to ease pressure as Mick McCarthy admits future out of his hands

Jack Byrne of APOEL in action during the Cyta Championship match between Doxa and APOEL at Makareio Stadium in Nicosia. Picture: Nicos Savvides/Sportsfile

Jack Byrne made his APOEL Nicosia debut tonight but his introduction from the bench came too late for Mick McCarthy’s side to lose for the fourth game in a row.

A 2-1 defeat against Doxa keeps McCarthy’s side in 11th spot of a table of 14 teams, just four points off the bottom.

They now face a crucial game on Saturday against fellow strugglers Ermis on Saturday.

With 10 matches of the regular season remaining, APOEL must climb into the top eight to be in the mix to participate in a play-off for the European qualification spots.

The acquisition of Ireland midfielder Byrne was only confirmed on Tuesday after he’d completed a period of isolation. The midfielder was sprung from the bench on 85 minutes with his side trailing 2-1.

The recently-crowned PFAI Player of the Year and Soccer Writers Association of Ireland Personality of the Year spurned a contract extension offer from Shamrock Rovers to reunite with the manager who handed him his first two international caps in 2019. The 24-year-old signed on a two-and-a-half year deal but McCarthy needs results to avoid becoming the latest victim of APOEL’s trigger-happy approach to firing managers.

The ex-Ireland captain had been out of work since April after the FAI opted to accelerate the succession plan with Stephen Kenny due to Covid-19 deferring the Euro 2021 play-off against Slovakia by six months.

While the former Millwall, Sunderland and Wolves boss was linked with jobs in the English Championship, he took up his latest post last month.

He has now, however, admitted his future is out of his hands.

“This is not my decision," he said after the defeat. 

"My position is that tomorrow we return to work and continue to work.

The most difficult thing for me is to come here to speak after four consecutive defeats. It is not acceptable for APOEL.

“We were ahead, then we conceded goals from a static phase, while in the second half there were not many opportunities, the penalty came for Doxa through VAR and we lost.

“It has nothing to do with the mentality of the players. When you accept defeats it affects you and it is normal."

McCarthy did praise the efforts of the former Shamrock Rovers man.

“We saw Byrne come in and he was hungry, maybe that's what we need. I do what I can as in all the games in my career but unfortunately at the moment it doesn't work."

APOEL are the most successful club in Cyprus with 28 league titles but their fortunes have plummeted since failing to retain their crown for the eighth successive time last year.