Sky Bet Championship: Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy is on course to deliver another Premier League promotion

Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy is showing all over again just why he's among the Championship's best managers, writes Adam Bate.

Mick McCarthy knows the Championship. He took both Sunderland and Wolves into the play-offs in his first full season in charge. But it was what he did in the third season at each of his previous three clubs that ought to have sustained Ipswich supporters over the summer.

At Sunderland in 2005, McCarthy delivered 94 points and the Championship title. With Wolves four years later he repeated the feat by the same seven-point margin. Even in his first managerial job with Millwall in 1994, he took the Lions to the brink of the Premier League with a third-place finish.

Such an achievement might not have looked too likely at Ipswich given the circumstances in which he took over. Battered and beleaguered under Paul Jewell, his predecessor departed as the third manager of the Marcus Evans regime to have failed to achieve a 40-per-cent win ratio.

Turnaround

Despite taking over at a low ebb with the club facing relegation to the third tier for the first time in more than 50 years, McCarthy has overseen a dramatic turnaround. Not only is his win percentage up above that 40-per-cent mark, he’s now rated among the top 10 managers in the club’s history.

With the help of faithful assistant Terry Connor, relegation was avoided before McCarthy took the team to the brink of the play-offs in his second season in charge. This year, in typical fashion, it has clicked. Victory against Derby on Saturday will take Ipswich top of the Championship.

A total spend of just £10,000 – and even that was on Arsenal target Tyrone Mings – provides the headline statistic but McCarthy is no alchemist. As he is fond of pointing out, those tracksuit initials do not stand for Merlin the Magician. It’s basic principles that lift his sides above the rest.

Pay £30million for a player and you might get top quality regardless. Pay £1million and fail to infuse him with a work ethic and team spirit that fosters self-motivation and it’s all worthless. While others falter, McCarthy is an expert in adding those intangibles to otherwise unremarkable players.

The 55-year-old took his time to introduce those players he trusted but they now form the backbone of his team. Christophe Berra, a title winner under McCarthy at Wolves, has been particularly impressive – making more clearances and blocks than any other player in the division.

Daryl Murphy’s success has been even more spectacular. The 31-year-old endured a lengthy spell on the left wing under Jewell but was handed the No 9 shirt by his old Sunderland boss and has responded in emphatic style. He’s now the Championship top scorer with 17 goals.

That’s already his best ever tally for a season and we’re barely at the halfway stage. It owes much to the fine partnership he has forged with David McGoldrick but at the heart of it is the relationship with McCarthy. “The lads love him,” Murphy told the Independent last month.

I always say I love players that work hard and who epitomise me.

“You’re going to get a b******ing if you’re not doing something right but the lads appreciate that and would rather he say it to their face than to the staff behind their back. Everyone’s pulling in the right direction, we’ve no egos in our dressing room and that shows.”

They’re not all workmanlike stalwarts though. That atmosphere creates the perfect environment for young and enthusiastic players to maximise their potential. Recognising the roles McCarthy and Connor play, Mings said: “I can’t think of two better people to help me with my development.”

New dimension

Teddy Bishop is another youngster attracting attention. The midfielder who McCarthy has praised for the way he “glides past people” has added a new dimension since making his breakthrough. “He’s great,” McCarthy told the East Anglian Daily Times last month. “I love the Bish.

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“I always say I love players that work hard and who epitomise me. Well, he puts his shift in. And he’s a fabulous footballer, one that’s only going to get better. Everybody is talking about Tyrone Mings – well there’s plenty looking at him as well. He’s got Premier League ability, no doubt.”

It is making for a great balance and the results are coming with the last 10 league games having brought eight wins and two draws. In fact, Ipswich have only lost one of their last 21 games in all competitions since the derby-day defeat to Norwich in August.

Saturday’s game against Derby won’t be easy, but the early kick-off does offer the prize of top spot in the Championship and the perfect start to 2015. It’s remarkable when you consider the finances at Ipswich. It’s not so remarkable when you consider the identity of the manager.

Watch Ipswich v Derby live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12pm this Saturday