Where that puts Newcastle is anyone's guess.
Do the fans want him? Well he's better than John Carver, but that doesn't say much.
Failure at Pride Park is hardly the CV we want from a new manager.
Derby strengthened their grip on a play-off place with a 4-0 victory against Blackpool at the iPro Stadium.
It was the perfect game for the out-of-sorts Rams after seeing their automatic promotion challenge hit the buffers in recent weeks.
Blackpool, already relegated, offered little resistance and Steve McClaren's men went ahead after only three minutes through Craig Bryson's 20-yard strike.
Tom Ince curled in a second goal against his former club in the 28th minute and less than 60 seconds later Darren Bent struck to put the game beyond the visitors.
Bent completed the scoring from the penalty spot after 65 minutes as Derby filled their boots and regained some much-needed confidence with just a second win in 10 league matches.
It was a big three points for the Rams as Brentford and Wolves from the chasing pack both lost.
A Kieran Lee goal consigned the Bees to a 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday while Wolves went down 2-1 at title-chasing Middlesbrough.
Early goals from Jelle Vossen and Patrick Bamford put Boro in control but Wanderers responded through Bakary Sako in the second half.
Sky Bet Championship leaders Bournemouth took another step towards a top-two finish - and promotion to the Barclays Premier League - by defeating struggling Reading 1-0 in a scrappy match at the Madejski Stadium.
Victory, which at least guaranteed them a play-off spot, was secured by a goal from the prolific Callum Wilson. Andrew Surman struck an upright from long range and Wilson tucked in the rebound.
Sky Bet Ch'ship
Ipswich 3 - 1 Cardiff
Derby 4 - 0 Blackpool
Brighton 0 - 0 Huddsf'ld
Birm'ham 2 - 2 Blackburn
Leeds 0 - 2 Norwich
M'boro 2 - 1 Wolves
Reading 0 - 1 B'mouth
Bolton 1 - 1 Charlton
Sheff Wed 1 - 0 Brentford
Millwall 2 - 0 Wigan