Curbishley interested in vacancy

Published Feb. 13, 2012 12:54 p.m. ET

foxsports

Alan Curbishley admits he would be happy to discuss the vacant managerial post at Wolves were the club to make contact with him.

The Premier League strugglers are in the market for a new boss after severing ties with Mick McCarthy on Monday morning.

A 5-1 humbling by local rivals West Brom on Sunday proved to be the final straw, with the decision taken to implement a coaching overhaul.

Curbishley is among those being mentioned as a possible contender for the post, with the former Charlton and West Ham manager boasting plenty of top-flight experience.

He has been away from the dugout since leaving Upton Park in September 2008, but admits he is actively looking to get back into management at the highest level.

Asked if he would be interested in speaking to Wolves owner Steve Morgan about the position, Curbishley told Sky Sports News HD: "If I get a phone call, then I'll speak to him. I have always said that I wanted to go back into the Premier League.

"I have had opportunities to go back since I have been out of the game. The Premier League is for me, I think my record stands up. It's just that I have been out of the game for some time now."

Whoever is handed the reins at Molineux will inherit a side currently down on its luck and occupying a standing inside the Premier League drop zone.

"Looking at what's going on down at the bottom, it looks like it's three teams from five," said Curbishley when asked to give his take on the battle to avoid the drop.

"Perhaps another club could get dragged into it, but it's three teams from five.

"You need to put together two or three wins to jump out of it. Those wins might come in the last couple of games, so when that trapdoor closes you're out. That's what happened to Wolves last year, to survive on the last day, so it's not over.

"But it's going to be tough because once you're down there, the players aren't playing with the confidence you would like them to have and the supporters haven't got the confidence. That's got to change."

While open to the prospect of returning to management with Wolves, Curbishley believes McCarthy is unfortunate to find himself out of work after helping to return the club to English football's top table.

He said: "I feel so disappointed for him because he took Wolves into the Premier League, kept them there for three seasons and now he's lost his job.

"Because the prize is so great of staying in the Premier League, any manager that finds himself in the bottom three, four or five then comes under pressure. That's happened to Mick, not just because of yesterday's result, but because it's been a combination of results.

"He'll look back at it and say he bought some players on deadline day - (Emmanuel) Frimpong's ended up going back to Arsenal injured and (Sebastien) Bassong got injured.

"Luck has a bit to do with it, but the results over the last 10 games are probably more to do with Mick leaving than Sunday's result."