Riding high in the Championship and welcoming Bristol City to Portman Road on Saturday, Mick McCarthy is seemingly still immune to the lures of Old Trafford.
Ipswich are away to Manchester United in the Capital One Cup tomorrow but the former Republic of Ireland captain and manager is once more preparing to field an under-strength side at the Theatre of Dreams.
Thankfully, for the cash-strapped Tractor Boys, it’s unlikely to cost his club £25,000 this time. Back in December 2009, three days after a 1-0 win at White Hart Lane, McCarthy made 10 changes for a midweek trip to Old Trafford, deciding to focus on the following Saturday’s home match with Burnley.
A 3-0 defeat to Alex Ferguson’s side was followed by a 2-0 win over relegation rivals Burnley, who were eventually relegated – finishing eight points behind Wolves.
Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times McCarthy hinted that once again he may choose to rest some of his front-liners, like Ireland internationals Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick, for a trip to English club football’s biggest stadium.
“If we won (against Manchester United) everyone would be getting excited and clamouring around us, but then if we got beat on Saturday then we’re all back to square one,” said McCarthy, whose side are currently fifth in the table, six points behind leaders Brighton.
“We want to win this game, but it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll win this cup.
“We’ll try and win this, but the league game on Saturday is more important. I’m not under any illusion as to what we want to do this season.”
Despite the fine – and the criticism – he received at the time, McCarthy does not regret his team selection from 2009 and feels avoiding relegation vindicated his decision to pit the likes of George Friend and Segundo Castillo against the defending Premier League champions, with stars such as Dimitar Berbatov in their ranks.
“You might remember an incident a few years ago when I changed one or two players going to Old Trafford as Wolves manager – it was eleven. Actually it was 10 because one was injured and forced upon me!
“We were fined for that, which was nonsense, because I still believe firmly, avidly, that my job as a manager is to get points for my team.
“And if I’m playing Tottenham away, Man United away and Burnley at home, and I get six points out of those games, then I’ve managed my club particularly well.
“That’s what I did.
“I told all my players what I was going to do and a few of them were going ‘oh, I want to play at Old Trafford’ and I said ‘well f****** keep us up and play there next year because let me tell you they won’t get relegated’.
“That’s the same for me on Wednesday night. Those that don’t play will be told ‘get promoted, then you can play against them twice next season in the league’.”
The rest of us might be getting a little excited about McCarthy going toe-to-toe with Louis Van Gaal for the first time since that historic 2001 World Cup qualifier win at Lansdowne Road but the Ipswich boss seems unmoved by the reunion.
For him it’s all about Saturday and the clash with second-from-bottom Bristol City.
Never change Mick, never change.
