English Premier League: Mick McCarthy says Manchester United can’t be written off in title chase
After suffering a 3-2 defeat in the knockout rounds of the Carling Cup at the hands of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers are now set to face the Red Devils again at the weekend in an English Premier League encounter. Last time
around, Wolverhampton Wanderers' manager, Mick McCarthy fielded an under strength team at Manchester, due to which he was fined by the Football Association. McCarthy made ten changes to his side for the corresponding fixture last year to keep his men fresh
for the match against Burnley just five days later.
However, this time around, it looks as if the ex-Irish national team manager won’t be taking any chances against the former European champions. McCarthy spoke to the press in his pre-match media interview as he said, “We were certainly singled out, others
have done it, and I did it and everybody found it suddenly really distasteful. If we'd have won, nothing would have come of it. And actually, we put up a good show."
Mick further commented on the 25,000 pounds fine that was imposed on him as he stated, "I wonder if I'd get away with nine changes this time around”. He was in a comic mood as he remarked extensively about his team’s chances at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Wolverhampton manager added, "I don't know, I'll have to ring somebody at the Premier League offices and ask what I can do. I think the performance we had at Old Trafford (in the Carling Cup) gave us plenty of confidence and belief, as did the one we had
at Stamford Bridge (where they lost 2-0). They have probably led to the result we got against Manchester City. If all those things help then we should be in better shape going to Old Trafford."
Wolverhampton won their latest match in English Premier League against Manchester City, something that Mick sees as a huge step forward for his players. Wolverhampton have had an average season thus far but McCarthy will be looking to get a result against
Manchester United when his team travel to North of England for the next round of Premier League matches.
The veteran manager emphasized the importance of putting in a good performance as he told the press, "I've been saying that if we were playing rubbish and getting beaten every week then we'd got no chance - we might as well pack up and go home. But we weren't,
we were playing well but not getting the bit of luck that you need to win. We probably had that last week."
Many pundits have pointed towards the fact that Wolves will probably have it easy at Old Trafford on Saturday as Manchester United are facing a minor injury crisis with most of their first team players on the doctors table. However, McCarthy was quick to
rebut any such beliefs as he stated, "We're going to Old Trafford, for God's sake. Manchester United at Old Trafford - it has quite an ominous ring, doesn't it? I'm not bothered what team they put out, they've always got fabulous players and the best manager.
It's a good recipe for success. Alex Ferguson would say himself that it's after Christmas when it all really starts. They have the ability to win seven or eight games on the bounce and suddenly it all changes. A couple at the top might draw two or three games,
United win five or six and it all concertinas up."
Elaborating on United’s injury problems, McCarthy went onto say, "It will be a different game than the one in the Carling Cup. They'll have Nemanja Vidic, maybe Rio Ferdinand and Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes playing against us. They have got players
who will play that didn't play against us before. But we've got players as well that will come in. I don't know if Ryan Giggs will be fit, and I know they're saying Wayne Rooney won't be fit until they play Manchester City. They also had the Champions League
game on Tuesday and, if that helps us, then great."
All remains to be seen how Manchester United line up on Saturday given the fact that they are scheduled to face Manchester City in their next Premier League match following their encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Sir Alex might rest a few of his star
players so that he can have them fresh and ready for the Manchester derby.
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