Jack Byrne made his APOEL debut tonight - but it was yet another defeat for Mick McCarthy’s side.
And reports in Cyprus claim the ex-Ireland boss is under mounting pressure as his team languishes towards the bottom of the table.
The Cypriot strugglers suffered their fourth defeat on the spin in the 2-1 loss away to Doxas Katokopia.
And afterwards, McCarthy said: "It’s becoming more and more difficult for me to come here and talk. A fourth consecutive defeat is not acceptable for APOEL.”
McCarthy signed a deal until 2022 but quizzed tonight about his immediate future, he said: “It’s not my decision whether to stay or leave.”
Ireland midfielder Byrne was named among the substitutes and came off the bench for the last five minutes.
The 24-year-old officially completed his move to McCarthy’s charges yesterday after signing on a two-and-a-half year deal from Shamrock Rovers.
APOEL will hope that the playmaker can help to turn their fortunes around as Cypriot football’s most successful club are 11th in the 14-team top flight.
Tonight’s defeat to Doxas leaves them just four points off basement boys Enosis Paralimni and McCarthy has won just three of the nine games he has directly overseen.
Former Hoops star Byrne will hope to win his first start for his new club when they host Ermis Aradippou - one point ahead of them in the table - on Saturday.
