Look at the bigger picture, Mick McCarthy tells Wolves fans

May 14 2008 By Paul Berry

MICK McCarthy today admitted he understood the disappointment of Wolves’ fans after missing out on promotion, but suggested it was more a case of looking at the bigger picture.

The Molineux boss insists he has never expressed any dissatisfaction with the demanding Wolves’ fanbase, and is hopeful they will look towards two years of progress since he took the helm after Glenn Hoddle’s departure.

“I kind of understand it,” he said of fans’ unhappiness.

“I know at the final whistle of our last game everyone was really disappointed.

“Then we instantly try to put a brave face on it and try to be positive.

“Then I think ‘let’s have a week and reflect’ and then see what everyone feels.

“But the fact we didn’t get in the play-offs doesn’t tell the whole story of what job’s been done and how the club has been managed over the last two years.

“And if anyone had thought I’d done a bad job they would have told me.

“I don’t think judgement should be passed on the last day of the season.

“It’s the two years that have gone on beforehand.

“I should be judged on the players who have gone in and out, the way it’s been managed – everything.

“Yes, we missed out on the play-offs but I think I’ve been doing a very good job, as have the staff.

“If everything is judged purely and simply on being promoted, then I haven’t done the job well enough.

“But maybe people should take a broader view based on the two years I’ve been here.

“The team has evolved, changed and got better and there are four or five players knocking on my door looking for new contracts with Premier League clubs wanting to sign them.

“I’m excited about the prospect of this team moving forward, and with a bit more help, we will try to get there because we’ve got good players.”

McCarthy also admits he is more than accustomed to pressure from fans, having started his managerial career at Millwall and then come through similarly intense environments with the Republic of Ireland and Sunderland.

And he also knows it’s not unique to Wolves.

“I was in a car listening to the radio not long ago and Nottingham Forest fans were chanting ‘Calderwood out’ and they were booing him,” he added.

“They said they wanted a new manager because he had taken the club as far as he could. “At the time I asked the driver to turn it off, and now they’ve got promoted!

“It was the same for Tony Pulis at Stoke - he’d been getting dog’s abuse right up until the Leicester game on the last day and now they’re in the Premier League.”