Mick McCarthy has hit his players with a fierce reality check and warned them to accept they are in a relegation dogfight for the rest of the season. Wolves crashed to their heaviest defeat of the season at Chelsea on Saturday and, coming two weeks after a similar humbling at home to Arsenal, McCarthy decided to stop attempting to sugarcoat their current predicament.
And with the proverbial 'six-pointer' looming against Alex McLeish's improving Birmingham this weekend McCarthy needs to see a reaction to his harsh verdict on their 4-0 setback - and quickly.
So was this particular tirade inspired man-management or likely to leave his players scared stiff operating under such pressurised circumstances?
Fanhouse believes McCarthy, despite his reputation for searing honesty and shooting from the hip, had carefully planned his outburst at Stamford Bridge.
With dismal results at Molineux already against fellow-strugglers West Ham, Hull and Portsmouth, there is a possibility that McCarthy's players have not yet grasped the severity of the situation. And, perhaps more importantly, how difficult it is to get results while embroiled in a battle to avoid the drop.
After cantering to the Championship title last term, many of the young players had spoken about settling for more than mere survival. The phrase 'walk before you can run' springs to mind.
For, while heavy defeats to Chelsea and Arsenal are nigh on certainties for a newly promoted club, dropping points to their relegation rivals is a recipe for disaster.
Birmingham and Bolton are up next at home and McCarthy desperately needs to pick up points from these games or run the risk of being dragged further into danger - especially with daunting trips to Spurs, Manchester United and Liverpool in the next few weeks.
"We just have to understand that we are in a relegation dogfight and that's why I decided this was the time to tell the players the truth," said McCarthy.
"With all the games we have left, that's the situation we're in. We can't hide from it and say 'Oh, we're doing OK, we'll be fine'. We look like a team that can get relegated."
He is absolutely spot on. The question now is whether his players will have the cojones to stand up and be counted.
McCarthy is trying to establish the siege mentality within his dressing room that helped Stoke stun the doubters by staying up last season. But does he have any leaders equipped to handle such heavy expectation?
The next six weeks are crucial. Suddenly, as early as November, this weekend's game against Birmingham takes on cup final proportions.
It is a game they must win to silence the growing number of doom and gloom merchants.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I assumed that Mr Mc Carthy would have informed his team of Stars?? of the tremendous effort that would be asked of them when the squad assembled pre-season. However,my gut reaction is that Mr McCarthy is having great difficulty in motivating himself to believe that Wolves are good enough to
compete and stay in the Premiership --- for example read his comments before the Portsmouth game!!!-I read nothing positive and the inevitable happened--- MR McCarthy has done a great job at Wolves, however, his record in the Premiership is not the best. As a straight talking person I would assume he would agree with me on that subject.Mr McCARTHY has brought in players of his own choice and reading the riot act is not going to work!! All the fans are aware of the difficult path ahead, however, I believe that the time is right to put this in prospective and accept the fact that the club needs a new , younger and more technical manager who can hone the skills of some outstanding youngsters in the team.So come on Mr Morgan you need to make some serious decisions here. As a 65 year old and a fan for 60years, I know you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, and the buck stops with you -- after all it is your money and if THE WOLVES START CAPITULATNG NOW, THEN COME THE END OF THE SEASON THERE WILL BE A MASS EXODUS OF YOUNG TOP CLASS PLAYERS--.