Wolves boss Mick McCarthy believes Irish duo Kevin Doyle and Andy Keogh can be ‘a force to be reckoned with’ this season – despite a trio of strikers still to return.

Club record signing Doyle was forced to miss the start of the campaign, after a hernia operation following his £6.5m switch from Reading.

In the meantime, Keogh has assumed the mantle of chief centre-forward with Doyle, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris Iwelumo sidelined through injury.

But Doyle and Keogh looked impressive when they started together for the first time in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Hull.

McCarthy said: “I thought Kevin was excellent against Hull.  Him and Keogh together were a real handful to their defence.

“I’m confident Kevin and Andy will be a force to be reckoned with this season, because they don’t give anyone a minute’s rest.

“It was especially encouraging bearing in mind they’d not really played together before that game.

“Doyle has certainly added that bit of quality. He was only 80-90 per cent fit against Hull, but having him back has made a big difference to us.”