Wolves will be looking to halt a run of three successive defeats when they visit Wigan for tomorrow lunchtime's Premier League encounter. It has led McCarthy to concede that his side's start to the campaign has been reduced "from good to average" but the former Republic of Ireland boss believes Wolves have performed creditably in leading at Fulham and Tottenham and levelling against Aston Villa before being beaten. He said: "Three games ago it was looking a really good start, now it looks like being an average one. "I think we have to put it into perspective, the teams we've lost against. "One was a Europa League finalist (Fulham), another a Champions League team (Tottenham). "Then we've faced a team who've finished sixth in the Premier League for the last three years (Aston Villa). "So we haven't been playing any mugs, and we've played well against them - but it's results that count. We need to pick up some points. "We've played well. It counts for nothing if we get no points after a while." Winger Matt Jarvis will be looking to build on his first goal of the campaign against Villa and there has been speculation linking him with an England call-up. McCarthy will not champion Jarvis' international claims but believes he has made rapid strides in the past 12 months. He said: "There were suggestions that Jarvo might have been in the last squad. "That's up to Fabio Capello to decide that, and whether he is good enough, but he has improved year by year. "He has got better week by week to the point where he is now a constant threat in the Premier League. "It is up to someone else to decide whether he is an England player but he is looking like a very good Premier League player." Wolves midfielder Adlene Guedioura will be sidelined for up to six months with the broken leg suffered against Villa. But McCarthy has exonerated Villa midfielder Steve Sidwell, whose tackle on Guedioura led to the injury, from any blame. He said: "I think Sidwell went for the ball and completely missed it. "It wasn't a nice tackle but I don't think he went to kick Adlene. "I think he went to get the ball and it was mistimed and he had only just come on the pitch. "Sadly one of our lads has got a broken leg but I am not condemning Sidwell at all." McCarthy saw Wigan earn a goalless draw at Birmingham last weekend and believes they are a tougher nut to crack than last season. He said: "I watched Wigan at Birmingham and I thought they were a different team to last season. "It wasn't about open expansive football and the best team winning. They've got a really tough side to them. "(Hugo) Rodallega and (Charles) N'Zogbia were a constant threat, (James) McCarthy in midfield and (Mohamed) Diame in midfield are good players but they look a real solid unit. "We've got the DVD of a home game, and I've no doubt they will play a bit more expansively at home, but they've got a harder edger to them."
