Mick McCarthy brushes off talk of Cardiff exit after Swansea drubbing
Mick McCarthy has pledged to fight on as Cardiff manager after Swansea inflicted a south Wales derby mauling and a sixth successive defeat on his side. Jamie Paterson, Joël Piroe and Jake Bidwell were on target as Swansea piled the pressure on the embattled McCarthy with a comfortable Championship victory.
“I am bitterly disappointed,” said McCarthy, whose side are two places and three points above the relegation zone. “It’s difficult when you are on a run like we are. All of a sudden it doesn’t look cohesive and sometimes you get opened up.
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“When does the pressure get too much for me? I keep doing the job and trying to get results. I will continue until anybody tells me different. All I have had is support. I think they – more than anybody – want me to be a success. Until anybody tells me different, I will be preparing for the Fulham game on Wednesday.”
The Cardiff chief executive, Ken Choo, had joined supporters bussed down the M4 and social media posts from the journey suggested he had questioned McCarthy’s future. Choo had supposedly asked fans for “new manager applications” and did not deny the remark when asked by a reporter about it before the game. But Choo claimed the comment was made “in jest” and McCarthy said he did not wish to respond to it.
“I don’t have any reaction to it,” McCarthy said. “I can’t imagine that Ken Choo would say that, actually, to people. And if he did, I think it would be said to me and nobody else. So no, I wouldn’t react to that. Until Ken tells me he said it, it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
Joël Piroe scores Swansea’s second goal. Photograph: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans/Shutterstock
The Swansea manager, Russell Martin, thought it was the best display from his side since he was appointed in August. “It was an incredible performance. The guys have handled the occasion brilliantly,” Martin said. “I feel like we’ve been really dominant in games and not quite created enough or, when we have, not quite had the composure and poise to finish it off.
“We spoke before the game about weathering the storm early on while Cardiff have intensity, energy and aggression. After that, I thought we controlled the match in a really good way.”
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Paterson celebrated the first goal with a “swim away” celebration, a reference Swansea fans use to their Cardiff counterparts after a conflict between them on the city’s beach many years ago. Martin joined in the “swim away” celebrations at the final whistle and said: “I got carried away. Why not? I got told to do it by someone and I understand the story a little bit.
“You have to be willing to accept that if you’re singing a certain relative of mine is something in the game.” Asked if he would repeat the gesture again, Martin said: “You’ll have to wait and see if we go and win at their place next time around. Probably not.”