Kevin Doyle: Wolves need to bale out Mick McCarthy

Kevin Doyle has told his Wolves team-mates they must bale out manager Mick McCarthy by beating Burnley.

Republic of Ireland striker Doyle says his side are ready to respond to the extra pressure put on them by their boss’s bizarre decision to pick his second string at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

He said: “There is going to be a big onus on this game – more from the outside, I think. People will be paying attention as to how we do.

“Hopefully it gives us more of a chance. But if we lose it doesn’t mean we didn’t make the right decision.”

McCarthy may have upset sections of his own fans, but Doyle says the players are right behind their boss.

And he insists clubs picking weaker teams in games that affect others is nothing new. He said: “I went down with Reading because Liverpool picked a team with a lot of changes against Fulham. That didn’t create so much stir.

“In that same season Fulham were losing 2-0 at Manchester City and were effectively relegated. Then the City players found out at half-time that their manager was getting sacked and Fulham came back and won.

“People are asking if we are going to change our team every time we play the top clubs but it won't happen. It was just because we were away twice in a row over a couple of days.”