Mick McCarthy entered the main reception at Portman Road on Thursday and plunged himself straight into a relegation battle.

Ipswich Town's new manager inherits a team which began the season harbouring hopes of promotion to the Premier League but is now four points adrift at the foot of the Championship. The former Republic of Ireland, Millwall, Sunderland and Wolves manager knows that he could do with hitting the road running by collecting at least a point during his first game in charge, at Birmingham on Saturday.

As his predecessor, Paul Jewell, would tell him, it will not be easy. "This is a good football club, first and foremost and it's sad to see it languishing where it is," said McCarthy. "I want success here and I've got a good feeling about the place. That's why I'm here. I want to get Ipswich Town going in the right direction but, make no mistake, at the moment the club is in a relegation battle and we've got to fight and scrap to get out of it.

"I feel for Paul and Hutch [Chris Hutchings, Jewell's erstwhile assistant] and I've spoken to them both. I know how disappointed they are that it didn't work out for them. When you look around the place, everything is here. It's just not happened on the pitch."

With results failing to reflect Ipswich's impressive infrastructure, McCarthy believes some introspection is in order as he conducts a review of what has gone wrong. "I'll take opinions from the coaching staff and the players," said the 53-year-old, who oversaw a training session on Thursday for the first time since his sacking by Wolves in February. "Everyone has to analyse their own performances and their role in why the club is where it is."

McCarthy will be assisted by Terry Connor, his former sidekick at Wolves and, later, the caretaker manager at Molineux. "Terry's a fantastic coach," said Ipswich's new manager. "He has good football knowledge and has worked his way up from being community coach at Bristol Rovers to the top level. He prepares well for games, is good with the players and around the dressing room and he demands high standards. He will be good for Ipswich Town."

Connor and McCarthy have signed two and a half year contracts and must now breathe new life into an underperforming squad, who have accrued only seven points from 13 league games, featuring a 12 match winless sequence.

It helps that McCarthy boasts significant Championship experience. He led Millwall, Sunderland and Wolves to the play-offs while also winning second-tier titles with the latter pair in 2005 and 2009 respectively.

"Mick has a wealth of knowledge in the game and, in his time with Sunderland and Wolves he showed he knows how to compete successfully in this division," said Simon Clegg, Ipswich's chief executive. "While the first task is to lead the club away from our current position, we believe Mick has the credentials and drive to bring success to Ipswich. e are under no illusions about the challenge ahead but we feel we have the right man to lead that challenge."

While it may be difficult to emulate Sir Bobby Robson's achievements at Portman Road, McCarthy remains confident he can succeed where, more recently, Roy Keane and Jewell both failed. "Ipswich is a fantastic football club with a proud tradition and history and a terrific fanbase," he said. "While the first priority is to get some confidence back into the team and start climbing the table, the long-term ambition is to take the club back up into the Premier League."