Although a nominal shortlist of four remain in contention the weekend newspapers and the betting moves all point to McCarthy being asked by Nottingham Forest's new owners to repeat his promotion feats with both Sunderland and Wolves.
The Sunday Mirror for example quotes sources close to the former Ireland boss as saying he is '90 per cent' certain that the job is his.
Appointing McCarthy would perhaps go against last week's headlines which linked the Al-Hasawi family with an 'iconic' manager but the Championship is not the Premier League and would surely not suit some of the more exotic names in the frame for the job.
McCarthy is due to hold face-to-face talks with the new owners on Monday after preliminary telephone conversations.