Ipswich Town: Mick McCarthy hopes for Man United impetus

United moved up to second in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday with a 3-2 win over Southampton.

United take on Ipswich at Old Trafford on Wednesday night as they look to book their place in the fourth round of the League Cup.

The Blues visit Old Trafford in the third round of the Capital One Cup in a little over 48 hours, with close to 5,000 Ipswich fans set to make the trip.

“For the players, let’s hope it incentivises them for the rest of the season”. “It would be a joy for everybody”.

However, the 56-year-old former Republic of Ireland manager needs no reminding of just what an inspiration the underdog status can be, having overseen a famous 1-0 victory against Van Gaal’s star-studded Holland side in Dublin which secured qualification for the 2002 World Cup play-offs.

“I am not even sure I really remember it, (but yes) that was a great day for me and Ireland, we got in the play-offs and won that against Iran so ended up in the World Cup which was brilliant”, said McCarthy. The League Cup hasn’t been a priority for Ipswich Town since reaching the Semi Final in the 2010/11 season and they have won two matches in the competition for the first time since then.

On signing, Pereira, who signed for United in 2011 amid interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, said he was “at the right club to continue my development as a player” and he’ll be hoping that proves correct when Van Gaal names his team to face the Tractor Boys this week.

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.

. Teenage midfielder Teddy Bishop will be unavailable while goalkeeper Dean Gerken will be subject to a late fitness test. Ryan Fraser and Kevin Bru though, will be back in the fray after they successfully made their way back from injury.

“Then of course I go and get the hump about it. At the time I was probably an angrier younger man. I was annoyed because of the suggestion we were just going to get turned over by this great Dutch side, but that didn’t happen”.