Wolves boss Mick McCarthy insists highly-praised strike duo Kevin Doyle and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake couldn’t have played as well as they did without being rested on Tuesday at Manchester United.

Club record £6.5m signing Doyle scored his fifth goal of the season, while Ebanks-Blake was twice denied by keeper Brian Jensen in a thrilling second-half.

The pair were two of nine recalled to the starting line-up after being rested for the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

McCarthy said: “Doyle was fabulous and full of running. It’s amazing what a bit of rest can do. The two of them couldn’t have worked like that if they’d played on Tuesday.

“They were knackered after Spurs – running on empty – and were brilliant yesterday. Sylvan’s been different class for the last three games – him and Doyle have been brilliant.

“Sylvan’s just had a child and probably had sleepless nights and his lifestyle has changed because of it. They worked the back four and there’s a good partnership blossoming. What’s nice about him is he’s been selfless about it.

“There were times in the Championship when it was all about Sylvan scoring. But he’s a more rounded and better player now. He’s happy to be in there working, tackling, heading, chasing and holding it up.

“He’ll get his goals but, at the moment, he’s doing it all for the team, which is brilliant.  He’s back to his best now.”

With Liverpool and Manchester City coming up, within 48 hours of each other, McCarthy was tightlipped on whether he would make multiple changes again.

He said: “It’s interesting the rotation policy – the wife’s idea of it ended up with us having three kids in four years!” he joked.
“It’s only the top clubs who rotate and Mick McCarthy changes 10!”
But he admitted being disappointed with the criticism he received.
“I have a bit of truck with one or two people’s opinions of me,” he said.
“They’ve questioned my honesty and integrity when I stand up for all those things. I’ve never cheated in my life.
“Questioning my character bothers me but questioning my decision doesn’t because they always will question it. I’m not trying to appease those people because we won, I’m not really interested in any outside influence, except what happens at the football club.”
McCarthy is happier having taken nine points out of 12 since the seasonal low against Birmingham. “That’s a lot better feeling than a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “I’m not looking for vindication, I’m looking for points. I’d have taken it when we lost against Birmingham, when we played badly, and we’ll probably have another bad one at some stage. It’s not all going to be sweetness and light because we won.”
Burnley boss Owen Coyle is a fan of Wolves’ strike duo.
He said: “We lost two terrible goals – for the first one there were three or four individual mistakes.
“Without taking anything away from Wolves, we were the architects of our own downfall. Doyle and Ebanks-Blake were excellent all game.
“That was partly because they’re very good players, and partly because Clarke Carlisle got injured early on and that contributed to our downfall in the first goal.”

“We found ourselves 2-0 down but we carried the fight, although Wolves were always a danger on the counter-attack.

“I also thought we had a stonewall penalty when Steven Fletcher was pulled down.”