It's over six years since Roy Keane was sacked as manager of Ipswich Town; Mick McCarthy recently marked his five year anniversary in the role.
Book-ending a year and a half that saw Paul Jewell hold the reins at Portman Road, McCarthy has this week been speaking out against his predecessor, former team-mate and player, Roy Keane.
Having brought sustainability and the shimmering prospect of promotion to Ipswich during his relatively long period with the club, McCarthy is renowned for his steady approach to club management.
Labeling him a 'safe pair of hands' doesn't exactly correlate with a manager who has previously gained promotion with both Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers, yet, despite Ipswich's inability to make this step in McCarthy's time, that they have not gone backwards is certainly something the Town fan-base will be grateful for.
Discussing his own boss - Marcus Evans - with the East Anglian Daily Times, McCarthy had some choice words for the previous "two managers" of Ipswich Town who had put the club in a more perilous position:
I came in here and I released three players who cost a whole chunk of money and didn't really do a great deal for the club.
He really supported the two managers prior to me in terms of money and funds. He's just not going to do that again. ... And I fully understand that.
While you would hardly have expected the former Ireland manager to name Keane or Jewell personally, the implication was clear; he had had to clean up their mess.
When asked if he believes he would have spent such sums of money better than the previous two managers, McCarthy was cautiously optimistic:
I'd like to think I would spend it wisely, and well, and get value for money. I think wherever I've been I've done that - I've had to because no-one has ever said 'here's a shed load, get on with it!'
Word of McCarthy's veiled barbs will undoubtedly make his back to his nemesis of fifteen years ago Keane, yet, whether the current Irish assistant manager takes the time to respond ... well, we can only hope.
