Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has hailed rookie defender Danny Batth as the best player in the defeat at Reading.

The manager again gave Batth and left-sided attacker Ashley Hemmings a chance to impress in the friendly at the Madejski Stadium last night, after they caught the eye in the 4-0 victory against Walsall last week.

Despite the 2-1 defeat, McCarthy was rewarded with sparkling performances from the two 19-year-olds, as Wolves lost their 100 per cent record in pre-season.

He said: “The game was a step up in quality, pace and power from the ones we had before, which I knew.

“But, as for bright spots, there were the two young lads who started the game. I thought Danny Batth was great and Ashley Hemmings did some nice things.

“It’s been really encouraging to have Danny, who I was thought was excellent and as good as anyone on the pitch, Ashley, David Davis and Sam Winnall coming on near the end.”

Brierley Hill-born Batth, a 6ft 3in centre-back, got 82 minutes and Hemmings played the first half.

McCarthy rested first-choice centre-back pairing Jody Craddock and Christophe Berra last night, with Steven Mouyokolo not ready until Saturday’s friendly at another Championship side in Simon Grayson’s Leeds United.

The Wolves boss said: “Mouyokolo is training again now and might be OK for the weekend.”

McCarthy believes defeat last night may have been just what the doctor ordered – to keep any expectations firmly in check.

He said: “Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. If you go through pre-season winning all your games, people can end up thinking you’re wonderful.

“But we know we’re not now. I didn’t need the reminder that there’s still work to do. Maybe everyone else did, because we’ve been ticking along nicely and won all the games.

“But ask Liverpool whether Reading is a nice fixture. They did us there as well when we were flying high in the Championship together, so it was always going to be difficult.

“Brian McDermott has got them well organised and has some good players. They’re a week closer in their preparation and playing against a Premier League team certainly motivated them.

“Their fans love to sing ‘Premier League? You’re having a laugh’ but we’re used to it – we lost to Milton Keynes Dons and Port Vale this time last year.”