Mick McCarthy today urged his Wolves side to follow the example of Stephen Ward and become heroes.

Molineux manager McCarthy takes his players to Premier League relegation rivals West Ham tomorrow anxious to build on their superb 1-0 win against Liverpool on Wednesday.

And the Molineux chief wants his players to follow the lead of Ward, whose goal sank the Reds and silenced The Kop.

“We’ve had a tough time – we’ve lost two captains in Karl Henry and Jody Craddock and Kevin Doyle and Michael Mancienne have been out for three weeks,” said the boss.

“If I could have some of those back we’d have a far better squad.

“But what tends to happen at Wolves is that someone steps up and makes themselves a hero and that’s the kind of spirit we want.

“Stephen Ward is what you want in a player. He can play anywhere and he does it without complaint.

“He doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves but to score the winner at Anfield was fantastic.

“I think he’s been our best player in the last three games.”

McCarthy is looking for his troops to continue the form they showed at Liverpool on Wednesday.

“West Ham have good players – they’ve got the England goalkeeper and some very good individuals,” he said.

“They’ve done very well recently but we’ve won three out of our last five and that’s what I’m looking to add to.”

The win against Liverpool lifted Wolves off the bottom of the table after being bottom on Boxing Day.

But McCarthy does not believe their league position will affect their ability to bring in players when the transfer window opens in 24 hours’ time.

“We have our targets but if they’re not interested in coming to us now I doubt whether our league position will make a difference,” he said. “And, if they are that fickle, I’m not interested in signing them anyway.”

Wolves have again been linked with a return for want-away Spurs striker Robbie Keane but McCarthy refused to confirm or deny the identity of any targets.

“There are so many reasons why it can or cannot happen,” he said. “It’s only speculation but I would never name players.”