McCarthy did brilliantly to keep the midlands side in the top flight last season, but they have endured a difficult start to the new campaign. They find themselves 18th in the table and have not won a league fixture since their victory over Stoke on the opening day. The Molineux outfit's next four Premier League fixtures see them travel to leaders Chelsea tomorrow, before meeting Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal - a run of games which few pundits will expect them to get anything from. But McCarthy says these are the sort of games that he and his players should relish. "I remember the scenes when we won the Championship, we knew what we were getting into," he said. "They are four games against big clubs, five with our game against Manchester United in the Carling Cup, they are big games. "You can take two views. It can be an exciting time or one to fear. I take it as an exciting time. They are great clubs to play against, it's better than four Championship games." Wolves efforts to pick up an unlikely result in the capital have not been helped by a combination of injuries, suspension and ineligibility which see them lacking numbers in midfield. Adlene Guedioura is beginning his rehabilitation from the broken leg he suffered against Aston Villa while on-loan Michael Mancienne is ineligible to face his parent club. Captain Karl Henry serves the second match of his three-game ban after his red card against Wigan, and Stephen Hunt is not quite ready as he continues his recovery from a long-term foot problem while, in defence, Jody Craddock is sidelined with a hip injury. That lack of troops in the middle of the park has seen 19-year-old David Davis recalled from his loan spell at Walsall and added to the squad. And McCarthy says it is likely the youngster will be handed a first-team debut. "The problems we have had have made us threadbare in the middle, but if someone gets an opportunity they have to make the best use of it, regardless of whether it's against Chelsea," he continued. "The game itself may not end up as we want, but if that person plays well it'll be good for them. "David is more than likely to be on the bench just because he is a midfield player. He has been doing really well. He is a solid, midfield player, he has decent ability passing wise. He is full of energy, a real box-to-box player and he has a decent shot. We have been pleased with him." Although McCarthy refuses to accept his side are on a hiding to nothing at the Bridge, he admits he is likely to adopt a conservative approach. "We are not going to go down there and be the dominant force, although if you just boot the ball up the pitch it will come back with stars and stripes and spots and everything else on it. "We will have to tackle and defend though, and that's how it is playing for Wolves against Chelsea. "I know everyone's view (of the game). I see everyone talking about them but we will play as well as we can against the best team in the league and try and get a result. "Going to Chelsea, if they play as well as they can there is nothing you can do about it. We will have to play as well as we can. "I don't have to get the players together (to analyse Chelsea on video), we all know what they can do and are aware of their abilities, it would probably be counter-productive anway."
