Wolves boss Mick McCarthy thrust the pressure on Play Off rivals Watford and Crystal Palace in the countdown to tomorrow’s Championship D-Day.
McCarthy’s side must beat last-day visitors Plymouth before a packed Molineux and hope that one of the two teams above Wolves slip up to open the door to the top six.
It’s a reversal of where Wolves and McCarthy were this time last year when they went into the final matches of the season holding a Play Off spot but under threat from Stoke and Preston behind them.
That’s given the Wolves boss and his players a first-hand view of the pressures that can bring about the kind of result the Molineux faithful are hoping for tomorrow when fifth place Watford travel to Blackpool and Crystal Palace, just in front of Wolves in sixth, are at home to Burnley.
“My players are relaxed, they are all looking forward to it,” says McCarthy.”The mood is very good. I sense the media want there to be a tension in there but there isn’t.
“There’s no reason to be that way because it’s not there for us to lose.
“Palace and Watford will be buoyant on the face of it but if you scratch beneath the surface, there will be a slightly nervous disposition.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious going into that final game at Leicester last season when we were 1-0 down after five minutes. We were the team being hunted on that occasion.
“I won’t be having the other scores brought to me - I won’t need to. The fans will have their radios on and phones; you can tell when there are goals coming in. I won’t be organising that.
“I will be concentrating on our job which is to beat Plymouth. It’s no different from any other game at Molineux for me - we have got to find a way to win it.
“And if any of the players have booked their holidays before May 24 and they have to cancel them and can’t get their money back then I’m afraid it’s tough!”
Wolves, who must beat Plymouth to trigger a panicky day for their rivals, have to hope either Palace or Watford lose.
They can also catch Watford if they are held to a draw by Blackpool - providing they win at Molineux by three clear goals.
Meanwhile striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is the man his former club fear tomorrow in his first match against Plymouth since his £1.5m move in January.
The 22-year-old has had a huge impact at Molineux, reigniting their play-off push by grabbing 12 goals in 19 games.
Argyle assistant manager Kevin Summerfield believes Ebanks-Blake has been ‘the missing link’ for Wolves.
With the 11 goals he netted for Argyle before his move, Ebanks-Blake’s seasonal total of 23 puts him one clear of Sheffield United’s James Beattie and Albion’s Kevin Phillips in the battle for the Championship’s Golden Boot.
Summerfield said: “Our defenders know all about him but, to be fair, he knows all about us, other than maybe Russell (Anderson).
“Let’s hope he has a bad day and Plymouth win.”
Ebanks-Blake activated a clause in his contract to secure his £1.5m transfer to Wolves.
He scored in his last game for Argyle, a 3-2 home win against Hull City in the FA Cup third round on January 5. Ebanks-Blake opened his account for his new club in only his second match, a 2-0 win away Scunthorpe, and has not looked back since.
There’s a big focus on the player in the camp of Wolves opponents tomorrow but the striker politely declined requests for interviews with Plymouth media in the build-up to the game.
But Summerfield has no doubts about the importance of Ebanks-Blake to Wolves’ promotion push.
“He has done great and, to be fair, he’s their missing link.”
37 Comments
YOU SHOULDNT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WHIPPING PLYMOUTH THEN MICK,,,,,,,,,,,,,,TAKING THE TITLE AT QPR THE MOWBRAY WAY,,,IN STYLE OF COURSE,,,OH YES
Players should be up for it -not “relaxed” -but not so nervous like they were against the Albion. The fans will certainly be tense. An early goal will certainly help!
what happens at palace or blackpool is totally irrelevant UNTIL we go ahead against plymouth. lets just concentrate on winning first THEN hope other results have gone in our favour. if it is that we’ll be playing championship football again next season..GET IT SORTED OUT MICK and use your squad propperly next season.
WE WOULD LOVE TO BE SINGING SUPER MICK AGAIN RATHER THAN MUPPET OUT..so come back season and give us some real hope of promotion rather than the faint hopes we have left tomorrow. we’ll sing and shout till the cows come home when we’ve got something to shout about.
SO COME ON MICK..JUSTIFY OUR SUPPORT..AND SHOW US YOU ARE THE MAN TO TAKE US FORWARD.
COME ON YOU WOLVES!!!!!!!!!!!
Shut up McCarthy, you clown
Sounds like mad Mick has resigned himself to another season in the fizzy pop league.
Boinging to the Prem the Mowbray way.
More fizzy pop footy for you lot.
3 souf, i think muppet out as a got a nice ring to it,boing boing goin up the MOWBRAY WAY
4. JIWAL
Steve Morgans comments to moaning morons like you is right. S** off we dont need you.
The players and MM need support tomorrow, while we have a chance anything is possible
JIWAL,
We really need people like you, who have nothing good to say.
Steve Morgans comments regarding the moaners and whingers is right S** off we dont need you.
no pressure mick,dont win season over,boing boing
Ok, ok - can we just stop all the sniping and the moaning! Lets all focus our efforts on getting a win tomorrow. Molineux will be packed, we need a passionate support to act as a mighty 12th man and terrify Plymouth. In recent weeks, McCarthy has got the team playing again. We haven’t set the world alight this season, but we are a young and inexperienced side. People who actually know about football recognise that it takes time to build a successful team. We’re going in the right direction and tomorrow we could make the play-offs. It is time for all Wolves fans to unite. If you can’t support the team, then do us a favour and as Steve Morgan said - S*D Off!!!
Steve Morgans comments regarding moaners referred, I believe, to those fans who boo Wolves players on the pitch, not to the legitimate criticism of the appalling football, tactics & team selections which have been served up for the majority of the season thanks to that clown McCarthy. If we had a half decent manager we wouldn’t have been relying on other teams to fail for us to scrape into the play offs - with the team we have we would have waltzed this very poor league.
I sincerely hope that McCarthy is not included in Morgan’s 10 year plan as I don’t think that we will need a 40K stadium in the conference.
terry, yeah but at the end of the day mate what does it achieve..he’ll be here next season..and so will we. so we gotta stick together and work together like you lot did to get the right end product.
WE ARE WOLVES UNTIL WE DIE..BARMY ARMY!
Well said Old Timer ( 12)the supporters are passionate about the team and want them to do well, that is why there is so much frustration about MM, his selections, tactics etc…
at 2.00pm tomorrow everyone will be behind the team, I just hope MM makes some right decisions for a change. The team & supporters will be up for it !
Exactly! Get behind the lads tomorrow!
Shut up Jiwal, you clown. Up The Wolves!!!
one word: PLEASE!!!!
get him out the muppet mick
Super Mick if you make it and muppet Mick if you don’t.You bunch of fickle scumbags.
ha ha. no pressure? why should there be? Afterall he doesn’t look at the league positions. The Muppet thinks we are already going up! It’s only going to be the balloon going up as regards Wolves!
I know we can do it COME ON WOLVES
please can u tell us if its true or just a rumour
it will stop the arguements please
hope its not true it would be a big loss
micks pscyological games generally do end in tears unfortuntately. hopefully not this time. lets just get our heads down and crack on with the game, we should be able to beat plymouth…
well done baggie scum hope u do aswell as derby. the team who beat u in the playoff final boink boink baggie scumbags
always have being bigger than you scum and always will be.get over it boink boink
the pressure is on us though
we need a win and nothing but a win
yes pressure off us in playoff hunt but not in the match tommorow
Come on dingles, make it a Black Country double!!
Irish Wolf - run off to mummy so that she can wipe the tears from your snot ridden face.
I think it’s Dingles like you that need to ‘get over it’. The success of the Baggies is hurting like hell. I think the Samaritans will be on overload in Dinglehampton tomorrow from 4.00pm.
GOING UP THE ENTERTAINING TOMO WAY. LEAVING THE DREGS OF DINGLE TOWN BEHIND.
Bitter Bitter Dingles
Boing Boing
wolves going no were, Palace got it in the bag, hard luck Mick
Irish Wolf, you and Eastwood should get back into your caravans and piss off you gypo.
irish wolf
You are a really sick person, and should get some help.
You need somebody to help you get your life into some sort of order, and you are very vulnerable at present.
Please get some professional help.
southbank 3, not a big fan of yours tbh, but I agree totally with that comment you made. Fair play. UP THE WOLVES !!!!
3, 13 nice to see you supporting the club again mate.
Out of Darkness…
35. Wolverines
None of us who want to see the back of McCarthy have stopped supporting the Wolves. It’s because of our passion for the Wolves that we want to see the club achieve. Something that McCarthy is incapable of making happen.
MCCARTHY OUT NOW!
sorry if i touched a nerve.