Mancienne earns high praise

Mick McCarthy is so impressed with loan signing Michael Mancienne he reckons he's Wolves' version of Germany World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer.

See also: Bully's England advice to Mancienne

Mancienne was man of the match on his full debut in Saturday's 2-1 win over Cardiff and the Wolves boss believes the 20-year-old Chelsea defender has added a touch of class to the back four.

"The gaffer was having a bit of banter in the dressing room after the game saying he was like Beckenbauer!" said right-back Kevin Foley. "Michael did really well. He's certainly a calming influence who gets in and nicks things and he's also strong in the air.

"He got man of the match – he has certainly fitted in straightaway.

"It means we've got that bit more competition at the back which is healthy and positive for the squad."

Big striker Chris Iwelumo has faced Mancienne twice and never scored and hailed him as "different class".

"He's a different class of player and we're delighted to have him on board," he said.

"He's a good lad. I played against him a couple of times last season when he was on loan at QPR and he's a quality player. I never scored against him!

"He's comfortable on the ball and I thought he showed a lot of desire to win a lot of things he shouldn't have won.

"When the ball was at his feet, he was also comfortable and he did the right thing.

"He's come from a quality club and he's had the right coaching and he showed that."