Mick McCarthy: Home form will be crucial

11 April 2012

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has admitted their Premier League destiny is ultimately going to be decided at Molineux.

Wolves entertain Hull tomorrow with McCarthy making it clear they have to cash in on their home games this season to ensure they retain their top-flight status.

McCarthy said: "We have got to try and make home advantage pay because it will be important this season.

"I would think that if you look at the Premier League as a whole, then home results are considerably better across the board than away results."

While not wanting to give Hull boss Phil Brown any ammunition with which to inspire his side, McCarthy has admitted this is the kind of game Wolves have to target as being winnable.

"We have a better chance of beating these teams than if we were playing Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea," said McCarthy.

"We should have a better chance than against the big six or eight teams at the top.

"But there certainly won't be any humdrum fixtures because you have to eke some points out of all of them."

Wolves have made a steady start after promotion, taking three points from their opening three games thanks to a 1-0 win at Wigan.

McCarthy has admitted that one more point would have left him "ecstatic" and now he hopes that this weekend his side will prove that they can be winners at home in the top flight.

"We are one point away from being ecstatic," added the former Sunderland boss.

"If we had won at home against West Ham on the opening day and drawn at Wigan and lost at Manchester City we would have been absolutely thrilled.

"So we are one point away from that total. We have proved we can win away from home, now we have to prove that we can win at home."

Last season Hull, along with Stoke, showed that promoted teams can survive in the top flight.

But McCarthy is not using them as a blueprint and the only similarity he wants is to make sure that his team also retain their Premier League status.
He said: "You just look to do it in your own way. We won't be doing it like Stoke, we won't be doing it like Hull.

"The only thing we want to emulate is staying up. We are not trying to copy anyone, we are ourselves.

"Hull had a great start to last season and then it went belly up for them for a long time. I am not sure that if I asked their manager Phil Brown he would know why that happened.

"I can't tell you why we won as many games as we did last season and then went on a long run without a win."

McCarthy will again ring the changes for the clash with Hull after he changed the whole side for the midweek Carling Cup win against Swindon.
But one player who could retain his starting role from midweek is £6.5million striker Kevin Doyle who has declared himself ready to make his first Premier League start for the club.

Doyle had been struggling with a groin problem after hernia surgery but could join fellow Irishman Andy Keogh in attack.

Full-back Stephen Ward and the versatile Greg Halford are in contention despite calf and knee injuries respectively.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (hamstring) is unlikely to feature and right-back Kevin Foley is still sidelined by a medial knee ligament injury.

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