McCarthy hits back at gambling rumours

WOLVES boss Mick McCarthy has hit back at reports claiming he has had to stamp out a “gambling culture” at Molineux.

McCarthy branded suggestions that four first-team players and one youth team player had been “gambling too much” last season as “lies”.

He is also bemused that his comments about the positive work which Wolves carry out with their first team and academy players has been spun to negative effect.

McCarthy said: “It saddens me that a lot of positive work we are doing should be reported in this way.

“Yes, we do have people come in to talk to the first-team players and academy players, talking to them about gambling and drinking and drugs. We have a sports therapist, Bill Stevens, as well as former player Jeff Whitley, and trained counsellor Mike Wood, who come in on a regular basis.

“But as I said, that is purely a preventative measure rather than a reaction to anything that has happened before. We do not have a gambling problem at Wolves, nor have we had one in the past, and to suggest we have is just lies.”

McCarthy added: “There are always potential threats around for players but we take our responsibilities as a club very seriously which is why we have these specialists come in.

“It’s prevention rather than cure – you don’t wait until someone is ill to bring in a doctor or wait until someone is injured before you bring in a physiotherapist.”

McCarthy is adamant the FA Cup is “definitely not a distraction” to the main target of Premier League survival.

McCarthy insisted he will field a strong side in today’s home fourth-round clash with Crystal Palace. New signing Geoffrey Mujangi Bia is poised to make his Wolves debut against Neil Warnock’s side after joining on loan from RSC Charleroi until the end of the campaign.

McCarthy said: “I don’t see the FA Cup as a distraction. I know we’ve got Liverpool and Hull coming up in the league but I see it as a game we need to win. If we win the cup-tie, we will feel a whole lot better about ourselves going into the game with Liverpool on Tuesday.

“We could actually win the FA Cup. We aren’t going to win the Premier League. I want to beat Palace and stay in the FA Cup. I’ve got 20 first team squad players and I’ll pick whatever team I want on Saturday and whatever team I want on Tuesday – but Saturday will be a very strong team.’’