McCarthy needs a case for the defence

When Wolves emerge from the international break, the familiar strains of the Z Cars theme will fill the air at Goodison Park.

How apt - because the current points haul is criminal.

What a fantastic opportunity blown. Eight games, a meagre seven points. Simply not enough.

Now Wolves have their backs to the wall as they contemplate five fixtures against Everton, Aston Villa, Stoke, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Pick the realistic points out of that. I certainly haven't abandoned hope, but points gained over these games will be bonus points in our scrap for survival.

When Wolves needed quality against Portsmouth, they delivered Championship standards against a team that had lost seven out of seven.

Mick McCarthy said he never considered starting with Sylvan or Michael Kightly. But surely a fit Kightly has to play at 3pm, not 4pm - whatever has gone before?

And the crushing statistic for me on Saturday was it took a full seven minutes before substitute Kightly touched the ball.

Of course Wolves were denied a nailed-on penalty, of course we would have expected Ebanks-Blake to convert his one golden chance, but a performance so lacking in quality did not deserve three points.

While Burnley run riot at Turf Moor, with four wins, we've been pretty hopeless against teams that could spend the season in the bottom half.

Four points from games against West Ham, Hull, Fulham and Portsmouth is palpably insufficient when some Premier League giants loom menacingly on the horizon.

Of course we can beat them, and all hope is not lost, but it's a massive ask when Wolves are currently defending in such a sloppy fashion.

There are genuine concerns about our back four's performance, individually and collectively.

And when you think about the men currently providing a barrier in front of Wayne Hennessey, thoughts immediately switch to the one man who's not even involved, despite a big money transfer.

He's got Champions League experience, but how good is Ronald Zubar? How much longer will we wait to find out?

Currently sat alongside him on the bench is another player of international repute, Nenad Milijas. But how good is he in the Premier League? Again, how much longer will we wait to find out?

The performances against Wigan, Man City, Fulham and Sunderland won deserved plaudits.

But Saturday's defeat was a real jolt - and only Kevin Doyle, out of McCarthy's summer acquisitions, has an enhanced reputation eight games in.

Our trip to Everton may prove as tough as the Boxing Day trip to Merseyside.

Be under no illusions, Wolves will need to be very good at Goodison.