This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Many are surprised to see Mick McCarthy still in a job after Cardiff City's 3-0 loss to Swansea City in the South Wales derby on Sunday.

Jamie Paterson had the Bluebirds on strings at the Swansea.com Stadium leaving Cardiff looking precariously over their shoulders.

McCarthy had an excellent impact after joining the club in January 2021 and earned a contract until the summer of 2023 as a result, the Cardiff board are clearly being patient with him amongst the woeful current run.

With the tests of Fulham and Middlesbrough on the horizon, the going is not getting any easier for the Bluebirds. They have a three point cushion above the relegation zone at the moment but that could vanish quickly with Hull City hosting Peterborough United on Wednesday evening.

We gathered the thoughts of a selection of FLW writers on whether they think it is time for Cardiff to sack Mick McCarthy...

Billy Mulley

Mick McCarthy is treading on thin ice at Cardiff at the moment, and I would have thought he would have been gone by now.

McCarthy has proven to be an excellent Championship manager over the years, but I cannot see him getting out of this situation.

They have looked lifeless and blunt in recent games, with Sunday's match against Swansea proving to be the worst of them all.

Cardiff have a strong squad, and could certainly get back to winning ways, but a change of management is how I believe they will get out of it all.

They have their hardest game of the season coming up against an in-form Fulham side, so I don't think he can be judged after this, but then he is seriously under pressure again after that.

 

 

Toby Wilding

It does feel like now could be the time for Cardiff to move on from McCarthy.

Watching them against Swansea on Sunday, it was hard to see quite where a positive result could come from for the Bluebirds on the basis of that performance.

As a result, if Cardiff are to have any hope of meeting expectations this season, there may well be the need to change things sooner rather than later, which ought to put McCarthy under pressure.

Indeed, the fans have already made it clear that they want a change in management, and it would surely make sense to try and keep them happy, especially after such a disappointing result and performance in the derby at the weekend.

With that in mind, it does feel as though the time could be right for Cardiff to start looking for a replacement for McCarthy to try and turn things around in the Welsh capital.

George Dagless

I am surprised he's still there because the nature of the defeat to Swansea at the weekend was pretty concerning.

You can lose a derby but doing so via a pretty emphatic scoreline is never a good thing, especially after the run Cardiff have had in recent weeks.

It just doesn't look as though it's going to turn around any time soon and I cannot see them getting any joy out of Fulham this midweek, that is for sure.

I think McCarthy is clearly on a tightrope at the moment and I think he'll have until this weekend to try and beat Middlesbrough and then it'll be curtains - he's clearly in need of a result and fast.