Central defender Johnson made the move from Birmingham to Molineux in the summer and instantly replaced Karl Henry as skipper. But the 28-year-old former Cardiff player, by his own admission, has failed in recent weeks to show the form that helped Birmingham to Carling Cup glory. When asked if Johnson had room for improvement, McCarthy said: "Roger and I have spoken about that. He did settle in well. After three games, he was fantastic - and everyone else was. "He is now part of a team that has had a bit of a toil and a bit of a struggle. "If I am honest, he is not 100% happy with the way he has performed so he is honest about it. "That's the first way of getting better, accepting you are not really playing as well as you can. "But I'm still delighted with him. I think he is a great signing for the club. "I've been there myself as a player. I've had that but he is doing his best to get over it." When asked if Johnson had approached him or vice versa, McCarthy said: "It is not a matter of who approaches who. We've had a number of discussions over recent weeks about lots of things. "He's captain so I talk to him quite a bit. As a manager you have to pick it up sometimes. He has been a top defender for the last two seasons. "For us, it is a case of reminding him of that more than anyone else. Players need to be told that. "We all like it. We all like praise." McCarthy does not expect Johnson to stop being vocal on the pitch because of his own current shortcomings. He said: "It is difficult to do it when you are not playing well because the first thing people do is turn around and say, 'Hold on, you're not doing it'. "You can't stop that, you are what you are, you are that personality. "You are not having a go at people, you are doing it to organise and to cajole the best out of other player and, in continuing to do it, it can actually make you better as well. "If you stop doing, then you are not being the person you are and you lose your personality. I'm sure he won't do that."
