Ipswich Town came close to ending their 13-year stay in the Championship last season, losing to Norwich City in the play-offs after finishing sixth in the table.

The Tractor Boys are pushing for promotion again this year, occupying the final spot in the top six, just a point clear of seventh-placed Sheffield Wednesday.

Ipswich face stiff competition, with in-form Hull and Middlesbrough, who strengthened during the transfer window, both occupying the automatic promotion places, while free-scoring Burnley sit third.

The team has improved every year since appointing McCarthy in November 2012, finishing 14th in the 2012-13 campaign before narrowly missing out on the play-offs in ninth in their first full season under the former Republic of Ireland international.

FootballLeagueWorld looks at FIVE reasons why McCarthy is the right man to lead Ipswich to success this season.......

[ffc-gallery]

PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE 5 REASONS!

[/ffc-gallery]

 

He's looking for his third promotion as a manager

Mick McCarthy knows how to get a team promoted from the Championship, having done so twice before with Sunderland in 2005 and Wolverhampton Wanderers four years later.

He also experienced promotion in his playing career, going up in back-to-back seasons with Barnsley, while helping Man City clinch a top flight spot in 1985.

Many of Ipswich's players have never played at a higher level than the Championship, but the experience of McCarthy should help the squad keep their nerves at bay as they head towards the business end of the season.

Last year's play-off loss

Losing in the play-offs always hurts, but being beaten by local rivals Norwich City, and then having to watch the Canaries book their place in the Premier League with victory at Wembley will have been agonising for McCarthy.

The manager thought his side were hard done to at the time, claiming the team should have been given a penalty in the second leg of their tie against Norwich, and insisting his men were the better side.

It won't be easy for the players to forget the defeat, but McCarthy will be able to help his players use their frustrations to be stronger this time around.

He backs his players

After more than three years at Portman Road, McCarthy is one of the longest-serving managers in the Championship - only Hull, MK Dons and Burnley have had their coaching staff in place longer.

Part of McCarthy's longevity is down to his trust of his players, admitting during the recent transfer window that he wasn't looking to make many additions because he didn't think he could improve on his squad with the funds available to him.

With many of the clubs around Ipswich in the table scrambling for free agents and loanees from the Premier League, it was a big statement from the manager, the kind that will make the players want to win for him.

He's built a balanced team

Some Championship sides are defensively strong, while others score plenty of goals but give their opponents an easy time at the other end of the pitch, but Ipswich have a good balance this season.

McCarthy may have been a defender in his playing days, but his team have a stronger goal-scoring record than second-placed Middlesbrough this season.

Ipswich let a few goals in early in the second, but have improved in recent weeks, conceding seven goals in as many outings, which included a 3-0 loss to Birmingham City, so they're a team that can be difficult to deal with at both ends of the pitch.

He's underrated

Last season, it was estimated that McCarthy had spent just £10,000 on his squad since arriving at the club - just a fraction of the total spent by other sides challenging for promotion.

Despite building a competitive squad on a tight budget, the 56-year-old rarely earns the plaudits reserved for the likes of Aitor Karanka and Sean Dyche, and admitted that the only way he'll secure a Premier League job is if he gets Ipswich promoted.

A lot of the focus is on the bigger spenders, taking the pressure off Ipswich, but McCarthy deserves more recognition for the job he's done at Portman Road, and another play-off campaign and potential promotion would earn him more credit.

Ipswich fans...What do you think about Mick McCarthy? Will he guide the team into the play-offs again this season? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!