Phillips gives Mick birthday blues

MICK McCARTHY hardly needs reminding of the prodigious scoring talents of Kevin Phillips, but Wolves supporters will be burning effigies of the veteran Birmingham City striker for the remainder of the season after he conjured another curse against the men from Molineux, who always seem to inspire him to his very best.

Phillips is less popular on the streets of Wolverhampton than a case of the plague – but the hatred for the former West Bromwich Albion striker and sworn enemies of Wolves will run deeper after his two-goal salvo brought a premature end to McCarthy’s 51st birthday celebrations.

Kevin Doyle’s sixth goal of the season might not have been the twin-engined helicopter that McCarthy dreamed of as a birthday present from his wife, but it seemed enough to give Wolves the launchpad for a move out of the bottom three with their first win in six league games.