Mick McCarthy is expecting a bruising time when Wolves kick off their tour tomorrrow - because of the Scots’ determination to beat the English.
Wolves face Alex Rae’s Dundee and the Molineux boss believes his side will come in for some uncompromising treatment.
McCarthy’s squad also face Motherwell and Kilmarnock on Wednesday and next Saturday respectively.
But he believes the tests will be as close to the Championship as possible as he hones preparations for the big kick-off on August 9.
“Dundee might not be in the SPL but the other two teams are, and there’s a link with two of the teams because of their managers - Alex at Dundee and Mark McGhee at Motherwell,” said McCarthy.
“But that wasn’t the reason I chose to go there. I went there with Sunderland and we had tough games because the SPL is similar to the Championship.
“It’s pacier, tougher - and they want to beat the English! That will be a bit ironic for us, because we haven’t got many English what with all the Irish, Scots and Welshmen we’ve got!”
McCarthy and former Wolves midfielder Rae are close friends who holiday together in Portugal every year, while the Wolves chief played with one of his predecessors McGhee at Celtic.
“I played with Mark at Celtic for two seasons, so I know him well,” said McCarthy. “When I played with him, we were good pals and we remain so now. I get on very well with him.”
Wolves have had two out of their eight friendlies so far and McCarthy believes the squad are on track with their preparations.
“Results aren’t the be-all and end-all at this stage. It’s about how we play and avoiding injuries,” he said.
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