Mick: Keane is a world beater

Some 11 years after McCarthy handed Keane his Republic of Ireland debut as a Wolves boy wonder, the 29-year-old Spurs striker is sweating on facing the club where he started his glorious career because of the form of 13-goal Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch.

But having seen Keane blossom from teenage prodigy to international captain and record goalscorer, McCarthy is in no doubt as to the Dubliner's quality.

"World class, great and brilliant are wonderful terminologies, but he's proved he can play at that level," he said.

"He's played and scored at a World Cup, so if you do that and score that many for your country, no matter who it's against, you can call him that.

"To score that many as well takes some doing as well because he's not an out and out striker either, he drops in holes and he drags people about.

"But he's been world class for Ireland, that's for sure.

"He's one of the best I managed and coached."

The prospect of Keane facing Wolves again when he can't be sure of a regular start at Spurs has sparked speculation he could move again in January.

That scenario has had the more romantic among the Molineux masses dreaming of Keane's return on loan to inspire Wolves' survival bid, with many believing he has unfinished business at a club for whom he has never hidden his fondness.

But with Keane's earnings said to be around £70,000 a week, McCarthy laughed off the suggestion, saying: "You'd better ask him that! There's no chance of him coming back in January unless we're playing them next month!"

McCarthy admires Keane's qualities as much as any Wolves fan however.

"I picked him for his full international debut when he was 18," he said.

"There was also never any danger of him not breaking the goalscoring record for Ireland – that was always nailed on."