Mick McCarthy reveals what REALLY happened when he was linked with a Sunderland return under Stewart Donald

McCarthy has discussed his time at the Stadium of Light in great detail during an appearance on the What The Falk Podcast.

And the 61-year-old - who has recently been appointed as manager of APOEL in Cyprus - revealed how there was no truth behind the rumours he was lined-up to replace Chris Coleman shortly after Stewart Donald’s purchase of the club.

McCarthy was spotted on Wearside just following Coleman’s sacking, but has explained how his trip to the region had nothing to do with the managerial vacancy and that no talks were held with Donald or anyone connected with the club.

“That story all came about because Dave Bowman, my pal who lives in Washington, had a BMW and I said 'I'll buy that off you',” explained McCarthy.

“His lease was up so I said I'll buy it.

“I got the train to come up and bring the car the day after Chris Coleman had been sacked - but this was completely unattached to me coming to pick this car up.

“I got on the train, there's only me on it and a guy emptying the bins. He sees me, does a double take and he came back again and did something, and says 'you're Mick McCarthy, aren't you?'.

“I said 'I am, how are you doing?' and he said 'you're going for the Sunderland job, aren't you?'.

“I said 'no, I'm not.'

“Then I go up to the BMW garage where we used to get our cars from, and me and Dave go for lunch next door, and it's all over the place.

“I can't help it that they'd sacked Chris Coleman the day before. It went mad, but nobody had ever asked me to come back.

“I came up to pick a car up and caused a real stink.”

McCarthy was also quizzed on his work in the transfer market while at the Stadium of Light - including the infamous summer of 2003 that saw a number of key players depart following relegation from the top flight.

That summer saw star striker Kevin Phillips move to Southampton, with McCarthy believing the move was an inevitable one.

“I don't want to be disrespectful to someone like Kevin Phillips who was a magnificent player for Sunderland, but he didn't want to play in the Championship,” he said.

“He didn't, and I don't blame him. He'd won the Golden Boot the year before or two years before, why would he want to play in the Championship?

“I had no axe to grind with them [the players that left] either and it was time for them to go.

“They'd had their time, the club had got relegated and as it turned out, the players who came in - they weren't of that ilk, but they were great.”

You can hear the interview with Mick McCarthy in full on the What The Falk Podcast, which will be released on Monday, November 23.

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