Mick McCarthy on five years at Wolves

Much has changed in the five years since Mick McCarthy became manager of Wolves.

Not least the huge difference he has made in reviving the grand old club's fortunes.

For those who see little beyond the sometimes snarling Saturday night soundbites on TV, think again.

On the pitch, a third successive season of top flight football for the first time since 1982 earns him his own place in Wolves' folklore.

But it's far more than that, no one more than McCarthy has done more to give the club's identity back to the fans following the fractured, antiseptic regime of Glenn Hoddle.

As McCarthy celebrated his fifth anniversary in charge today, he gave a glimpse into how he and Wolves remain such a good 'fit.'

In the reception area at Compton, McCarthy is talking tactics to new signing Roger Johnson.

At 28 and as a seasoned pro, many may think there is little Johnson doesn't know or that can improve his game.

But McCarthy talks encouragingly through his point, gently emphasising how he will demonstrate it on video later on.

Each player who files through is warmly greeted by the manager with a handshake and a polite 'good morning' - a throwback to his time as a player in Lyon - while every player responds to each other with similar pleasantries.

If the sayings 'the little things make all the difference' and 'the best things in life are free' count for anything, it's that they underpin the rich team spirit that embodies the very fabric of his time at Wolves.

As for the man himself, McCarthy has long recognised that the carrot can be more useful as the stick.

So has the 52-year-old mellowed?

He said: "Without doubt. I still haven't lost that desire to win, but I'm more considered. I use that word a lot myself - I think about things a little bit more.

"Sometimes I might fly off the handle - which is necessary from time to time - but I hope I'm becoming a better manager.

"I'm certainly happy to take things head-on, but I tend to let things run their course a little bit.

"There might be something that's irking me, but rather than just go and put both feet in as I might have done before, lots of times it works out better just by taking a breath and thinking about it.

"It's a question of analysing when you need to do it – that's the skill.

"For example, if I'm on the touchline and everyone thinks I should make a substitution, I think 'no, I've got my best players on the pitch' so you leave it and you get a goal.

"It's the same in here - the younger you are, the more inclined you are to do things in haste. It's just experience – I haven't got the answers for everything.

"But if I wasn't getting better, there would be something wrong."

Hoddle's swift exit, which ushered in McCarthy, seems a long time ago now.

The story of him being left with 10 players and £1million to spend is well-known, but how did it all come about?

He said: "I knew Wolves, having played here and managed other teams against them and it was one of the big jobs that came up that summer along with Derby County, Sheffield United, Leeds and West Brom.

"I'd had three months off after Sunderland and I'd been in Portugal for three weeks, but I didn't apply for the others. I just had a fancy for Wolves and went for the job.

"I went to speak with Jez and Sir Jack but the club didn't need any selling to me. But I got on well with those two, which was a good starting point.

"They must have thought the same because I got a call from them even before I got back on my plane to Portugal asking if I wanted the job.

"I said 'if you're asking me to get promoted, I'll just go back and sit on the beach and wait for a more realistic offer to come in.'

"I wanted to get promoted but I thought it was necessary to put the brakes on, because I was aware of all the pressure that can get put on clubs like this.

"But I had a really good feeling about the place."

In the event, promotion came at the third attempt - which was in keeping with his promise - but, even after the relative failure of finishing seventh in 2007-08, McCarthy could see signs of progress.

He said: "It then seemed like such a disappointment finishing seventh in the second season, but I could see we were progressing all the time."

Use of the 'young and hungry' profile identified as the way Wolves would go five years ago has become as well-worn as an old slipper.

But McCarthy remains proud of the philosophy to this day.

He said: "That was my idea – that's what I do. I had the discussion with Jez and Sir Jack at the time and my view is that's how I do it.

"I get people in to work hard – that's my stamp on the club. We had to change the make-up of the place, the club couldn't afford to keep those older, senior players either.

"I wanted young, hungry and ambitious players and that's what we got. They all knew they were at a good club as well. No one came here as a sidewards or downward step.

"Even the likes of Gary Breen, who had been to a World Cup, bought into it and I knew I could hang my hat on him."

It's a philosophy that has been at the root of the success of the Wolves boss and trusted lieutenants Ian 'Taff' Evans and Dave Bowman wherever they have been.

McCarthy said: "We've done all the way through really. We did it with Ireland because we gave debuts to lads such as Robbie Keane, Damien Duff and Richard Dunne and more and they are still playing.

"Then we did it at Sunderland – good lads like Danny Collins, Dean Whitehead and Liam Lawrence who all ended up as Premier League footballers.

"They were similar types to those who we brought in here. But the lads we brought in here have been fabulous.

"That's down to their characters - we always try to get the same sort who fit the club.

"I hope those lads mirror me – they're consistent, they work hard and they do their jobs, they are unfussy. I would hope the team reflects my personality.

"You try to get the same sort of qualities in players and then you try to improve them, which we have done.

"Players have improved individually and blossomed into Premier League footballers."

McCarthy's critics say the rigidity of the formula blocks the emergence of an umpredictable talent capable of producing the unexpected in games.

But he countered: "I can't see what anyone has to dislike about the ethos.

"We get young, ambitious, talented, athletic players – and some of them such as Kevin Foley had played a lot of games – into this place and they all want to work hard.

"And they all put a shift in - they're unbelievable. They're all well-mannered, they all do their stuff in the community, they all do their charity work.

"Wherever we go, I get complimented on the character of the players and how they are. How could anyone dislike that?

"The problem is that while some think that's great, they want better. But better only comes with us staying in the Premier League and progressing all the time.

"As they all get better, we can add more quality, like we've done to the point where Stephen Hunt scored an '£80million goal' with a great bit of quality.

"We added Steven Fletcher – it didn't happen for him straightaway but he got 12 goals in the end – and we saw it with Jamie O'Hara.

"But it has to be a gradual, evolving process in keeping with the club.

"It's just a process of continually doing better, year on year."

It's hard to recall any Wolves team who give so much to the cause.

So how does McCarthy get so much out of them?

He said: "To play for me, they know what they're going to have to give and I know what I want out of them. They've got to run around because if you don't, you don't play.

"They give me everything – as I do for them. The players have to buy into it, mind – and some don't. And the ones that haven't, don't play or aren't here.

"We've seen players who have become crowd favourites here but aren't in the team and people wonder why.

"Surely hard work has to be the basis. I look at Manchester United and they are as hard a working team as anyone.

"But the ones who start spiralling downwards are the ones who have stopped grafting."

Respect, integrity and fairness are the core principles of McCarthy's management and with it comes a message that leaves no one in any doubt what's required.

He said: "I tell them what I expect from them and I don't change that.

"So whether they are in the team, conceded an own goal or whatever, I'm consistent in what I do on a daily basis and I do think that's a big part of getting the best out of people.

"I might change my tactics for a game, but the message stays the same - 'put your shift in and do your job properly to the best of your ability every day.'

"I'm straight, honest and consistent with them. My door is always open but I tell them 'don't come looking for an answer.'

"I'll say 'come in and ask a question or make your point but don't think you're going to get the answer you expect'."

It's clearly worked too, with Wolves the Premier League's most successful club based on the lowest wages paid.

And McCarthy concluded: "Over the course of five years, I've had more things right than wrong.

"Did I sit in Portugal thinking when I got that phone call that I would be preparing for my third season in a row in the Premier League? No, I don't think anyone thinks like that.

"I just thought I would get Wolves promoted. When that would be, I didn't know.

"So, overall, it's been a great five years."

By Tim Nash