Mick McCarthy is prepared for the inevitable speculation over his future after watching his Wolverhampton side suffer a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Tuesday.
McCarthy has refused to pay much attention to those who believe his time as Wolves manager is drawing to a close, but the former Republic of Ireland skipper could not ignore the boos that greeted his side at the final whistle at Molineux.
Wolves are without a win in nine Premier League games and while McCarthy is hopeful for the future he understands the fans frustration.
"After the last home game (against Aston Villa) there were huge rumours that I wouldn't be here," he said.
"I can't imagine there will be any less after this game. We will see. I can hear what the fans are saying and I fully understand it."
Second-half goals from Andy Carroll, Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt consigned Wolves to their 13th defeat of the season and McCarthy branded the performance as 'unacceptable'.
"It was an unacceptable performance from us in the second half and watching that was unacceptable for me or anybody else," he added.
"That's as bad a performance as we've had here or away. Fans pay good money to come and watch and they expect better and I understand that.
"If I had been watching, I'd have probably responded like that as well."
While he expects speculation over his future to intensify, McCarthy has defended his players who he believes are giving everything to the club.
"The lads are hurting, there are none of them that have come and not tried," he declared.
"But once we've conceded, we've gone on to be beaten by a considerably better side who have just beaten Manchester City and Manchester United.
"If you give them goals then it becomes hard work but I understand people's reactions."