Wolves earned a vital 3-1 victory over lowly rivals Wigan in their last home game, but McCarthy is still under pressure from the stands with his team sitting fourth bottom. Victory in Sunday's crucial clash with fellow strugglers Sunderland, who replaced sacked Steve Bruce with Martin O'Neill this week in an attempt to arrest their slide, would give McCarthy some breathing space. But Johnson has moved to deflect the tension away from his manager by taking responsibility for a wretched run of one win in their last 10 league matches. He said: "You can't sack a whole football team. "It comes down on the manager's shoulders - and I take that to heart. "I don't like the fact that our performances affect someone else's livelihood. "It's down to us, it isn't down to the players. "We wear the shirt, we go over the white line and if we're not doing it, it falls on one guy." McCarthy appointed Johnson as Wolves captain shortly after signing him from Midlands rivals Birmingham in the summer. And the 28-year-old is determined to repay the faith shown in him by McCarthy. "I like the manager for his honesty. I'm like that myself," he told The People. "It really wasn't nice to hear him getting stick but the fans have paid their money and they deserve an opinion. "I want to repay him by defending well, keeping clean sheets and getting the side up the league."
