Mick McCarthy’s three-year reign at Sunderland came to an end on Monday when the former Ireland manager was sacked by the club, currently anchored to the bottom of the English Premiership. McCarthy (47) guided Sunderland back into the the top flight as Championship winners last season.
But he paid the price for a Premiership campaign in which his side have managed just two wins from 28 matches, leaving Sunderland needing a miracle to avoid relegation.
The decision to axe him nevertheless came as something of a surprise, as McCarthy’s position had not been thought to be under serious threat.
Sunderland chairman Bob Murray’s patience finally ran out after a 2-1 defeat by Manchester City on Sunday, and McCarthy was informed of the decision to dismiss him at a meeting on Monday morning.
”It was agreed that it is in the best interests of both parties for him to leave immediately,” a club statement said.
Kevin Ball, a former Sunderland midfielder who had been in charge of the club’s academy, was named caretaker manager until the end of the season, when a decision on a permanent successor to McCarthy will be made.
Murray said he accepted responsibility for what has been an ”unsuccessful and heartbreaking” season, but had decided that the loyalty of Sunderland’s fans had gone unrewarded for too long.
”The club did not return to the Premiership just to make up the numbers, and whilst we fully expected it to be a tough first season back, none of us expected to be in the position we are today,” Murray said.
McCarthy’s fate may have been sealed last month when the chairman reacted angrily to his suggestion that the club had effectively planned for relegation by failing to bring in enough experienced players to make Premiership survival a realistic possibility.
Murray went public to register his anger at comments he branded, ”blatantly untrue and insulting”.
McCarthy had claimed that Sunderland had deliberately concentrated on signing young players who would stay around and be affordable in the event of relegation.
”We have lacked experience this season, but if we had gone out and got experienced players on big salaries, we might have had a real problem if we had gone down,” McCarthy said.
In reality, however, Sunderland spent as much on new players as fellow Premiership newcomers Wigan and West Ham, who are both currently residing in the top half of the table.
McCarthy’s dealings in the transfer market did not help the club’s cause, with both Jon Stead, bought for £1,8-million from Blackburn, and fellow forward Andy Gray proving to be flops.
Goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, signed from Ipswich at the start of the season, has also looked out of his depth, with a string of errors contributing to Sunderland’s dismal run.
McCarthy arrived at the Stadium of Light in March 2003, succeeding Howard Wilkinson only five months after he had replaced Peter Reid.
His first steps in charge were not auspicious: Sunderland lost their last nine matches in the Premiership to be relegated with a record-low total of 19 points.
McCarthy then had to oversee major cuts in spending and was generally credited with having done a good job in getting the club back into the top flight in two seasons. — Sapa-AFP