Mick McCarthy defended his Wolves team selection but said he could
understand the anger from fans after the 3-0 defeat at Manchester
United.
McCarthy made 10 changes to the side that defeated Tottenham
at White Hart Lane and, although his line-up competed well for half
an hour, once Wayne Rooney opened United's account from the penalty
spot, there was never any doubt about the result.
Nemanja Vidic headed home number two just before the break
and Antonio Valencia profited from an excellent piece of skill from
Dimitar Berbatov to crash home the third.
It was too much for the travelling Wolves faithful, who
chanted "we want our money back", "where is our first team" and
"£40 to watch the reserves" before making their way back down
the M6.
"I can understand that reaction," said McCarthy. "But at the
end of the season I will be judged on whether Wolves have stayed in
the Premier League or not.
"It was my strongest team - because it was a team with fresh
legs."
McCarthy was clearly aware of the criticism his decision
would unleash because he came to the post-match press conference
armed with a piece of evidence that shows players' performances
reduce by up to 40 per cent when they are forced to compete twice
in three or four days.
And, having asked his players to mark their efforts at Spurs
and been presented with a succession of 9.5s, he opted against
asking the same players to push themselves again so soon
afterwards.
"It was not a plan but when I saw those figures I knew there
was no chance of the same type of performance on a Tuesday after a
Saturday game," he said.
"I have a squad of 21 to pick from and I regard them all as
first-team players."
McCarthy then picked through a succession of matches against
high-profile opposition and questioned why his team selections on
those occasions had not prompted so much debate.
"If I go into an opposition manager's office, or they come
into mine, I don't get any sympathy if my team has just been
slapped," he said.
"The pressure was off me on Saturday and I was starting to
relax. I thought I would put it back on me again."
As one of the pioneers of making mass changes for certain
games, Sir Alex Ferguson - who was celebrating his 900th league
game in charge of the Old Trafford outfit - claimed he was not
surprised at McCarthy's decision and that it made sense given
Wolves face a crucial game against Burnley at Molineux on Sunday.
In any case, Ferguson has enough problems of his own at the
moment, with skipper Nemanja Vidic picking up a calf strain that is
almost certain to rule him out of Saturday's trip to Fulham.
Wes Brown also faces a two-week lay-off, which would be
enough to rule him out of the entire festive programme, after
suffering a hamstring injury against Aston Villa on Saturday. It
means Michael Carrick will be forced to continue in central defence
at Craven Cottage, probably alongside 21-year-old rookie Ritchie De
Laet.
"Ritchie showed some promise and he will probably be there on
Saturday," said Ferguson. "We just have to get on with it."
Ferguson offered particular praise to Rooney, who scored his
13th goal of the season when he drilled home a 30th-minute opener
from the penalty spot. And Valencia is now up to six following his
well-taken effort after a brilliant overhead kick from Berbatov.
"Antonio is improving, there is no question about that," said
Ferguson. "He was only a quiet lad when he came but he is more
expansive now and he is expressing himself on the pitch very well.
"Six goals is a decent return because we know it is an area
he can do better in. Overall we are really pleased with him."Mick
McCarthy defended his Wolves team selection but said he could
understand the anger from fans after the 3-0 defeat at Manchester
United.
McCarthy made 10 changes to the side that defeated Tottenham
at White Hart Lane and, although his line-up competed well for half
an hour, once Wayne Rooney opened United's account from the penalty
spot, there was never any doubt about the result.
Nemanja Vidic headed home number two just before the break
and Antonio Valencia profited from an excellent piece of skill from
Dimitar Berbatov to crash home the third.
It was too much for the travelling Wolves faithful, who
chanted "we want our money back", "where is our first team" and
"£40 to watch the reserves" before making their way back
down the M6.
"I can understand that reaction," said McCarthy. "But at the
end of the season I will be judged on whether Wolves have stayed in
the Premier League or not.
"It was my strongest team - because it was a team with fresh
legs."
McCarthy was clearly aware of the criticism his decision
would unleash because he came to the post-match press conference
armed with a piece of evidence that shows players' performances
reduce by up to 40 per cent when they are forced to compete twice
in three or four days.
And, having asked his players to mark their efforts at Spurs
and been presented with a succession of 9.5s, he opted against
asking the same players to push themselves again so soon
afterwards.
"It was not a plan but when I saw those figures I knew there
was no chance of the same type of performance on a Tuesday after a
Saturday game," he said.
"I have a squad of 21 to pick from and I regard them all as
first-team players."
McCarthy then picked through a succession of matches against
high-profile opposition and questioned why his team selections on
those occasions had not prompted so much debate.
"If I go into an opposition manager's office, or they come
into mine, I don't get any sympathy if my team has just been
slapped," he said.
"The pressure was off me on Saturday and I was starting to
relax. I thought I would put it back on me again."
As one of the pioneers of making mass changes for certain
games, Sir Alex Ferguson - who was celebrating his 900th league
game in charge of the Old Trafford outfit - claimed he was not
surprised at McCarthy's decision and that it made sense given
Wolves face a crucial game against Burnley at Molineux on Sunday.
In any case, Ferguson has enough problems of his own at the
moment, with skipper Nemanja Vidic picking up a calf strain that is
almost certain to rule him out of Saturday's trip to Fulham.
Wes Brown also faces a two-week lay-off, which would be
enough to rule him out of the entire festive programme, after
suffering a hamstring injury against Aston Villa on Saturday. It
means Michael Carrick will be forced to continue in central defence
at Craven Cottage, probably alongside 21-year-old rookie Ritchie De
Laet.
"Ritchie showed some promise and he will probably be there on
Saturday," said Ferguson. "We just have to get on with it."
Ferguson offered particular praise to Rooney, who scored his
13th goal of the season when he drilled home a 30th-minute opener
from the penalty spot. And Valencia is now up to six following his
well-taken effort after a brilliant overhead kick from Berbatov.
"Antonio is improving, there is no question about that," said
Ferguson. "He was only a quiet lad when he came but he is more
expansive now and he is expressing himself on the pitch very well.
"Six goals is a decent return because we know it is an area
he can do better in. Overall we are really pleased with him."
