McCarthy admits fears over Wolves form

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy fears his side’s spirit could evaporate if they do not arrest their alarming run of form quickly.

Wolves remain 19th in the Barclays Premier League – five points behind Wigan above them – after slipping to their ninth defeat in 11 games, 2-1, at Blackpool yesterday.

The Molineux outfit have also conceded in every game and McCarthy realises he must turn around the slump to prevent a season which began with optimism, after survival last term, heading towards disaster.

McCarthy said: “It is doom and gloom at the moment – or it can be very quickly. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“If we do start with our heads down it is going to be difficult.

“We have got to keep our chins up and keep going and take what positives there are out of the performance.

“But it is still a defeat, so it is difficult.”

Wolves were booed off by their own fans at the final whistle but their second-half display had been enterprising.

Trailing to a wonder strike from Luke Varney and a further Marlon Harewood effort, Wolves responded with some determined attacking play.

They created several chances and Nenad Milijas went close with a shot which brushed goalkeeper Richard Kingson’s fingertips and hit the post.

Sylvain Ebanks-Blake was denied at point-blank range by Kingson before Kevin Doyle finally pulled one back five minutes from time.

That set up a frantic finale but Blackpool held on to move four points above the bottom three with only their second home win of the season.

McCarthy bemoaned his forwards’ failure to make the most of their opportunities but felt the team’s real problems began at the back.

“We created loads of opportunities to have chances but we have not been clinical,” said the former Sunderland and Republic of Ireland boss.

“But I am not blaming them because we have not managed to keep a clean sheet all season. We have not even had a solid base from which to play.

“Maybe the strikers wouldn’t be snatching at things and being anxious in front of goal. We are always chasing it and that is difficult.”

Blackpool’s win was their first over Wolves since 1968 and continued their impressive start to their first season in the top flight for 39 years.

Varney set them on their way when he chested down a long ball and fired a brilliant volley past Marcus Hahnemann after just three minutes.

The goal was the 28-year-old’s fourth since joining the Seasiders on a season-long loan from Derby and set up a pulsating clash.

Harewood doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time but Wolves’ response after the break left Varney feeling the real Tangerines heroes were at the back.

Varney said: “A great deal of credit has to go to the defence again because it was a great effort, they defended like warriors like they did at West Ham.

“It was nice to get the early goal but I don’t know if we dealt with the bit after that very well.

“We should have kept the ball a little better but we’ll learn from that.

“We’ve come out of the game with three points and everyone has got a smile on their face.”

Blackpool conceded 10 goals in hefty defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea earlier in the campaign but their spirit has never wavered.

Confidence has rarely dipped since promotion was secured last season and, with 18 points from 14 games, Ian Holloway’s men are not fazed by any opponent.

Varney added: “It’s a fantastic return, I think the doubters who put us down for 10 points all season can eat their words now and we can move on from here.

“We’re not scared of anyone, we’ve shown that in our performances against the big teams.”