Source: Team_Talk
McCarthy: Squad size does matter
Having received a bye in the first round, Wolves welcome League One side Swindon to Molineux on Tuesday night as they bid to reach the third round of the League Cup for the first time in six years.
McCarthy admits Premier League points hold priority this season as the Black Country outfit look to secure their top-flight status following promotion.
But that does not mean he is going to treat the competition lightly.
Asked whether Wolves can be at Wembley for the final on Sunday, February 28, he said: "Yes, but I look at Tottenham's squad and I look at Manchester City's squad and, if they were to rotate and play some other players, I think you might find they're still playing a stronger squad than most of the others.
"So it's going to be difficult.
"Everybody reckons, and it's accepted, that you're going to have to have two squads of players. I watched Tottenham on Sunday and I saw the rest of the players they've got - Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, they've got bigger and better squads.
"Without a doubt, points in the Premier League are paramount. It would be interesting to watch all the ties and see who plays."
McCarthy will himself be rotating his starting XI for the visit of the Robins having admitted three Premier League games in the space of a week have taken their toll on his side.
But he is not prepared to throw in the mix of reserve team players some now associate with the competition.
"I will be rotating my squad, out of necessity in some places, to give others a game and one or two a break as well," he added.
"We've had an intense start. The first three games have taken its toll on players.
"It's a competition to try and win but we have got a squad of players and there's some who haven't played - first-team players in Andrew Surman, David Jones, Christophe Berra, Kevin Doyle, Sam Vokes, Ronald Zubar, Marcus Hahnemann.
"A lot of players who all need to play that are first-team players. So it's a game we still want to win and play first-team players in."
Wolves go into the encounter without several injured big names - Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (hamstring), Chris Iwelumo (foot), Michael Kightly (foot and hip), Kevin Foley (knee), Greg Halford (calf) and Stephen Ward (knee).
But one man expected to make his first competitive start for the club after recovering from injury is record signing Doyle.
And McCarthy knows minutes on the pitch will prove crucial to his speedy recovery.
"We can all see what a good footballer he is, you can just see maybe he hasn't got his land legs on just yet," said the Wolves boss. "Fitness, sharpness, getting up to 100%.
"Every bit he plays for us he's going to get closer, closer and closer to his best."
