Mick McCarthy, 62, has been out of management since leaving Republic of Ireland in April; Cypriot side APOEL is McCarthy's first club job since being sacked by Ipswich Town in 2018; APOEL are ninth in Cypriot First Division
Monday 2 November 2020 18:35, UK
Mick McCarthy has made a surprise return to club management after taking charge of Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia, signing a deal until May 2022.
The 62-year-old has been out of a job since leaving his role with the Republic of Ireland in April this year and has not worked at club level since being sacked by Ipswich Town in 2018.
APOEL have confirmed Terry Connor - who has worked as McCarthy's assistant at Wolves, Ipswich and Republic of Ireland - has also been brought in.
McCarthy's new side have won the Cypriot title a record 28 times but have made a poor start to the 2020-21 season, winning just two of their first six league games.
The club finished third in the table last season, earning a Europa League spot, but were knocked out of the competition at the final play-off stage by Czech Republic's Slovan Liberec.
A run of four games without a win proved the end for Greek coach Marinos Ouzounidis, who was the Nicosia team's 12th permanent coach since 2015.
A statement on APOEL's official website said of McCarthy and Connor: "We welcome both of them to APOEL and we wish them to immediately help the team return to good and substantial performances so that it can meet its goals, which are to win titles."
APOEL's current squad includes former Sheffield Wednesday striker Atdhe Nuhiu and ex-Chelsea youngster Ben Sahar and McCarthy's first match in charge will be against second-bottom Ethnikos Achna on Saturday.
McCarthy began his managerial career at Millwall before his first spell as Republic of Ireland boss between 1996 and 2002.
He then achieved promotion to the Premier League at both Sunderland and Wolves, staying at Molineux for over five and a half years before being dismissed in 2012.
