Two games not everything for boss

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has insisted the season won’t hinge on the crunch next two home games – but admitted his side need to beat Birmingham.

The club host Blues on Sunday trying to get back on track after seven games without a win which has left the manager warning his squad they are in a relegation fight and could lose their Premier League place.

With a third of the season gone, McCarthy knows points are more vital than performances.

He said: “I doubt our season rests on these two home games. If anyone thinks that after 13 games I’m going to say our season hinges on these two matches, they must be mad.

“But they are hugely important games. The Bolton game will take care of itself if we win on Sunday, then we’ll all be talking differently. This is a vitally important game for us.

“What we want from it is three points, and it’s probably what we need as well.”

But McCarthy would happily lose all four local derbies this season if it meant Wolves stayed up.

He said: “If someone says you didn’t beat your local rivals, well who gives us a monkeys? We would still be in the Premier League. The issue of it being a local derby has to go on the backburner – it’s about us getting points, and the same for them, because they’ll be feeling exactly the same.

“It’s never been about coming off having played well for 30 minutes against Arsenal. I’ve said all along that the performances have been OK, but that doesn’t really matter.

“Points are all that counts and we haven’t got enough on the board. That’s what bothers me. But it wouldn’t bother me if we lost all the derbies, got 42 points from everywhere else and stayed up.

“It’s about getting enough points to stay up – it doesn’t matter where they come from. At the end of it everyone will be thrilled and delighted, because we’d be a Premier League club.

“It really doesn’t matter that Sunday is a derby.”

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