Jamie O'Hara to be Wolves' 'dictator'

Mick McCarthy today revealed he is looking for Jamie O'Hara to be a' 'dictator' for Wolves this season.

The £3.5m signing from Tottenham, who was hoping to shake off a knee injury to play in the Premier League opener against Blackburn Rovers today, is seen as a player who holds the key to Wolves' creativity.

O'Hara scored three goals in 14 games to help Wolves stay up last season before turning his loan into a permanent move.

Wolves picked up 41 per cent more points when O'Hara was in the team than when he wasn't last term.

And Molineux chief McCarthy is hoping the former Spurs playmaker, who has targeted forcing his way into the England team, will have an even bigger impact this time around.

"He has the ability to dictate games with the ball which is a great quality to have," said the boss.

"We're a better team now we've got O'Hara in. He's a really talented player and I'm really delighted to have got him.

"He's shown his quality in the games and certainly in training.

"He's made a big impact. He made a big impact coming in last season, scoring some important goals, none more than important than the West Brom goal, and then the one that kept us on the attack against Blackburn.

Commitment

"He also created the opportunity for Stephen Hunt to get the second goal.

"So I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do."

McCarthy believes O'Hara will only get better this season after finally getting over a long-term back injury that curtailed him a year ago.

"I think he'll be better for a pre-season, but also from playing as many games as he did, plus he knows everybody better," said the boss.

"He's also settled. He signed his contract and he always wanted to be a Wolves player from day one, so he was happy here. That showed great commitment.

"And now we've got him, I'd hope he would be better.

"He's got no problems at all in a 4-4-2, he's a great grafter and puts a shift in."

McCarthy also believes his other major summer signing, £4.5m defender Roger Johnson, will have a similarly big impact.

"Roger will make a huge difference to us too," he said.

n Wolves' Carling Cup second-round tie at Northampton has been confirmed for August 23 (7.45pm).