Mick McCarthy: Wolves will get physical

Published Nov 7, 2016

Last updated Aug 4, 2011

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy today declared he wants his team to 'get physical' again this season.

McCarthy's side were vilified by the national media for tackles made by their players in games against Newcastle and Fulham at the start of last campaign when they had seven booked in each match.

They were criticised again when Karl Henry was sent off for a crude lunge on Jordi Gomez against Wigan.

Wolves eventually finished 13th in the Premier League's fair-play table and McCarthy maintains the reputation they earned was grossly unfair and counted against them.

"It kind of suited people to give them a stick to beat us with at the time," said the boss.

"But it did us a real disservice because we were going to away grounds and the fans were screaming 'dirty Wolves' at any tackle that went in.

"Some of the staff from other teams were using it to get at the officials, saying 'look, it's Wolves, they're always kicking this and that'. And yet nothing could be further from the truth.

"If the truth be known, I'd like my team to be a bit more like that because we're not dirty, cynical, nasty or overly aggressive, we're competitive."

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