Word is that £10,000 was barely enough to get Linda Evangelista out of bed let alone create a team that can challenge for promotion and a place in the Premier League, but that sum is all Mick McCarthy has spent on transfers at Ipswich over the past few seasons.

In November 2012, when the former Wolves manager took over at Portman Road following Paul Jewell’s dismal time in charge, the club were in turmoil. They were out of the League Cup and had gone 12 games without a win. They were bottom of the table and prime candidates for a division drop. The lack of stability on the pitch was mirrored by the mess off it.

Jewell was the third manager to depart during Marcus Evans’s five years in charge, and the club were having what they called “cash-flow delays” as the debt to Evans soared to more than £70m. The usual solution of waiting for the January transfer window and throwing money at the problem had to be shelved.

Ipswich were already heavily reliant on the loan system – they had acquired 11 players through it before the transfer window opened – and McCarthy was forced to prospect it some more.

Gold came in the form of Richard Stearman, who was brought in from Wolves to strengthen a weak defence, along with David McGoldrick and Aaron McLean, who added some bite to their attack. Tyrone Mings, a 6ft 3in defender and former Southampton youth player, was signed from non-league Chippenham Town for £10,000. Mings would only make one appearance that season but the other three played their part as McCarthy’s cautious approach brought success and the safety of 14th spot.

That same approach to squad-building was applied during McCarthy’s first full season in charge and reapplied this season. “We’re not going to be going out and buying anybody or paying money for anyone,” said McCarthy during the summer. “It will be Bosmans and loan deals.”

Mick McCarthy shouts instructions from the touchline beside assistant Terry Connor. Photograph: John Marsh/Action Images

He was true to his word and despite the £3.75m received for Aaron Cresswell from West Ham, the only money that McCarthy has spent on transfer fees remains that £10,000 on Mings. In a game too often dictated by spending power it borders on the miraculous that Ipswich are still a competitive force in the Championship, and yet they are.

Last season they finished ninth, only four points off a play-off place. This season, despite a poor start that resulted in them picking up only five points in their first five games, they won four in succession and rose to fourth.

The run saw Ipswich do a double: McCarthy won manager of the month and Mings player of the month. Late goals conceded against Nottingham Forest, Blackburn and Huddersfield meant they turned nine points into three and are winless in five. On the flip side, however, they have only lost one in 10 and stand in 10th place. That is two points off a play-off position and 14 places above where they were when McCarthy took over exactly two years ago on Saturday.

And yet that is not enough for some fans. At the end of the Huddersfield match boos boomed out and McCarthy exchanged words with supporters. “I can [understand their frustration],” he said later. “But it’s the same squad of players that everybody was lauding for costing nothing and getting us in the top six. Everybody enjoys that when it’s going really well. And when it’s going really well, things drop for you … Have we suddenly become bad players and bad coaches? No. It’s just a bit of a tough period. I think that’s when everybody has to get behind us, not against us.”

While he publicly claims to understand, privately he must be angry with the reaction. As he once famously mused: “Opinions are like backsides. We’ve all got them, but it’s not wise to air them in public.” And he would have good reason for that anger. On skeletal resources he has created a solid side who while not always as easy on the eye as many would like, are not as dour as some make them out to be and must rank as dark horses for a spot in the play-offs.

They outplayed and outperformed sides such as Fulham and Forest, who spent a vast amount more in the summer. McCarthy has also improved a number of the players, evinced in the summer bids for McGoldrick and Mings from Premier League clubs that were ultimately rejected.

At his unveiling as Ipswich manager, McCarthy said: “The long-term ambition is to take the club back into the Premier League. It’s clear that the first priority is to get some confidence back into the team and start climbing the table.”

The table has been climbed and confidence is back. Now it is time for Ipswich to aim for that long-term goal.