McCarthy won't rush quartet

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has vowed to be patient and not rush a quartet of fit-again players back into regular action too quickly.
Michael Kightly, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Kevin Foley and Jody Craddock all made their comebacks from injury during Wednesday's 1-0 Carling Cup third round defeat at Manchester United.
However, McCarthy has revealed that none of the quartet will start at Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.
"They will be in the squad. It's impossible for someone who has been out for six months (Kightly) to play 70 minutes last night and then play 70 minutes on Sunday at full tilt. It doesn't happen," McCarthy told the Birmingham Mail.
"So the four lads who played last night won't be starting and we'll have fresh legs in the team for Sunday. But it's great that they've played.
"We've had Foley, who's been out for a month, and Ebanks-Blake has been out for the guts of that as well.
"Craddock has been out for two to three weeks so maybe that had an effect on us not having that extra bit of zip and pace to run in behind United and open them up when we had the opportunities.

Ireland given hospital all-clear

Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland has been given the all-clear despite being hospitalised following Wednesday's Carling Cup win over Fulham.
The 23-year-old midfielder was sent for precautionary tests after complaining of dizziness and feeling unwell when substituted in the second half of City's 2-1 third-round victory.
"Stevie Ireland is back home after being taken to hospital following last night's Carling Cup win over Fulham," read a club statement.
"The reigning player of the season was substituted and taken for precautionary checks after complaining of dizziness and feeling unwell.
"Tests were carried out and he was given the all-clear.
"He is expected to rest today (Thursday) and resume training at the weekend for the visit of West Ham on Monday night."

Edwin set to consider future

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has admitted he may call time on his lengthy career at the end of this season.
Van der Sar, 38, will sit down with the club in December to see if he will be offered a new one-year contract before deciding on his future.
EDWIN VAN DER SAR
The Dutchman is currently sidelined following surgery on a hand injury.
"I've said for a few years that it sometimes may be my last season," he revealed.
"Six months before my contract with Manchester United ended in December 2006, we extended for one year and so far it has been the same every time.

Trotters lose injured Davis

Bolton Wanderers have revealed that Sean Davis is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines following surgery to repair damaged knee ligaments.
The former Portsmouth midfielder picked up the problem during last month's 3-2 defeat to Liverpool in which he was sent off.
Davis had started all three of Bolton's Premier League games this season following his arrival from a free transfer during the summer.
"We don't want to put an exact timescale on how long Sean will be out of action for because he will be given as long as it takes to regain his full fitness," manager Gary Megson told the club's official website.
"It is a disappointment for Sean and ourselves but injuries happen and we have got to deal with it."
Meanwhile, Megson has revealed that he has a clean bill of health ahead of Saturday's meeting with Birmingham City after Ricardo Gardner reported no ill-effects to playing 60 minutes in the Carling Cup victory over West Ham United on Wednesday.

Chelsea chases 7th Premier League win at Wigan

LONDON — Three points ahead at the top of the standings, Chelsea is chasing its seventh consecutive Premier League victory when it goes to Wigan on Saturday aiming to maintain the only perfect record in English football.
Looking back to how they finished last season, the Blues could make it 12 league wins in a row.
Although Chelsea finished third behind Manchester United and Liverpool, that was down to a midseason slump that led to the departure of manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. But a finish of five league wins in a row has carried on this term despite another change of manager

Toffees allay Yakubu fears

Everton assistant Steve Round has allayed fears that Ayegbeni Yakubu suffered a fresh injury problem in his first start for 10 months.
The Nigeria striker confirmed his return with a first-half goal during Wednesday's 4-0 Carling Cup third round rout of Hull City.
YAKUBU
However, he was substituted at half-time following an injury scare.
But speaking after the match, Round revealed that Yakubu had suffered a minor thigh problem and insisted that the striker's knee ligament injury is firmly behind him.
He explained: "He has got a slight thigh strain. We want him to train tomorrow and be ready for Saturday so we took him off as a precaution.
"He is a 20-goals-a-season striker. He has had nine months out and I have seen how hard he has worked to come back.
"It has been a long road for him so the whole team are delighted for him to get a goal."
Yakubu opened the scoring on 11 minutes and then goals by Jo, Dan Gosling and Leon Osman completed the rout.
Round added: "I think the early goals made a difference as they knocked the stuffing out of Hull a bit.

Hot-shot Gabby delights O'Neill

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill believes an in-form Gabriel Agbonlahor is "on fire" after the striker netted the winner in Wednesday's 1-0 Carling Cup victory over Cardiff City.
The England striker was on the scoresheet for the fourth consecutive game and O'Neill has been delighted with his early-season form.
GABRIEL AGBONLAHOR
"Agbonlahor is on fire at the moment, he is playing brilliantly for us and has got so much confidence now," he enthused.
"The goal he scored was maybe the sort he would not have attempted three-quarters of the way through last season, but he has so much confidence."
However, O'Neill admitted that the 1-0 scoreline was an accurate reflection of a competitive third-round encounter with the Championship side.
He added: "I think that Cardiff were never out of it and played some nice football, but we seemed to be in reasonable control and I am delighted to have won and avoided another defeat in the competition."
Meanwhile, O'Neill refused to discuss the future of Nigel Reo-Coker after the midfielder was again left out of the squad following his training ground bust-up with the manager last week.

Hughes brushes off criticism

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has continued the war of words with his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson in the wake of Sunday's seven-goal thriller at Old Trafford.
Ferguson described City as merely 'noisy neighbours' after United's 4-3 win, but Hughes seems pleased that his club appears to have got under the skin of the veteran Scottish manager.
MARK HUGHES
He was quoted in the Daily Mirror as saying: "I don't think we made as much noise as is being made out. A noisy neighbour? Well, in terms of the amount of noise our fans made then you could possibly say that.
"They know after the character we showed at Old Trafford that Manchester City aren't going to go away.
"I think people are beginning to realise we'll have a say in what will happen this season. Maybe Sir Alex has attacked teams when they emerge as rivals and, if that's the perception of his agenda, then yes, we're comfortable with that.
"They know we're here to stay, they know we'll have an influence on who wins the Premier League in years to come.
"We know we can go up against any team in this league and take points off them, and obviously our ambition is to win it ourselves.
"We might not be in a position to win the League or even get in the top four for a number of seasons, but we'll stop other teams from doing it.
"Maybe people doubted that we can have a say at the top of the table, maybe they doubted us before the events of the last ten days, but we came out of the game with a lot of credit.
"Now they realise we can have a say in what will happen this season. We're going to try and do everything in our power to be successful as quickly as we can. But it is unpredictable.

Green blasts sloppy Hammers

West Ham United and England goalkeeper Robert Green thinks the club's players have an over-inflated opinion of themselves.
After losing at home to Liverpool at the weekend, the Hammers' mediocre start to the campaign continued with a limp display in Tuesday's Carling Cup exit at Bolton Wanderers.
ROBERT GREEN
A dejected Green told the London Evening Standard: "We didn't play any football in the second half and I think we're getting above ourselves, thinking we're better then we are at the moment.
"We're in a position where we have to get results. Like Saturday, we didn't defend well for 90 minutes and didn't take our chances.
"We were sloppy at both ends and you know that when you come to Bolton you're going to concede free-kicks and corners and so it proved.
"I think they scored off their 16th corner and with five minutes to go you have to defend properly. We didn't and it cost us.
"We didn't play well enough before or after our goal to kill the game off."

Bruce rules out Healy loan exit

Northern Ireland international David Healy will not be allowed to leave Sunderland on loan, according to boss Steve Bruce.
The former Leeds United, Fulham and Preston North End star has struggled to break into Bruce's first-team plans at the Stadium of Light and was recently linked with a loan switch to Coventry City.
DAVID HEALY
Ipswich Town boss has reportedly been keen on bringing Daryl Murphy to Portman Road, but Bruce is more concerned by the club's lengthening injury list.
He said: "George McCartney got a knock on his foot yesterday morning and with him out, along with Lee Cattermole and Marton Fulop, the squad we fielded against Birmingham City was it - that's all we had left to put out.
"We haven't got a lot of players to choose from right now.
"So David Healy is staying at Sunderland, so is Daryl Murphy for the next two or three months at least because the numbers we have to call on is small, in that respect.
"I took a decision - I wouldn't call it a gamble - that the money we were offered for some of our squad players was too good to turn down.
"But, as things stand now, we really can't let any more go."

Latics set for M'Bami decision

Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez is set to make a decision over whether to offer midfielder Modeste M'Bami a contract to remain at the DW Stadium.
The 26-year-old Cameroon international has been on trial with the Latics in recent weeks and will make one final reserve team appearance before Martinez makes his call.
ROBERTO MARTINEZ
He told the Evening Post: "Modeste will play once more in the reserves tonight, and we'll probably make a final assessment on him after the game.
"He's been working hard to his fitness levels to where they should be and now we can give him a proper assessment."
However, former Sunderland goalkeeper Jurgen Macho has now left the club to return to Austria.
"Jurgen's situation is different to Modeste, and he has gone back to Austria," Martinez added. "He wanted to have a look at us and we wanted to have a look at him.
"But we have three good goalkeepers at the club and we're not going to take things any further."

Cascarino: Crouch Must Start

"Harry Redknapp surprised me at the weekend when he left Peter Crouch out of the Tottenham line-up at Stamford Bridge. I think Peter has done very well and was surprised he wasn't preferred to Robbie Keane.
PETER CROUCH
"For me, the Spurs forward line should consist of Peter Crouch and one other, be it Jermain Defoe or Keane. At the moment Defoe is the man in form without a shadow of a doubt so he should be in the team rather than Robbie, who has yet to rediscover his best form since returning to the club, so the best front two Harry could select is Crouch and Defoe without a shadow of a doubt.
"Tottenham are very close to being a really top team but the centre-half position is a major problem. If Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate were fit then this would be a really good side but unfortunately that's very rarely the case. You could see how much weaker Tottenham were when King went off against Chelsea, as Drogba literally bullied Vedran Corluka like a ragdoll at times. If they had everyone fit then in my opinion Tottenham are easily as good as any team outside the big four.
"I am also surprised Harry has yet to start Niko Kranjcar in the team. I assumed he was brought in to fill the gap left by the injury to Luka Modric but that's not been the case so far. The team has been shifted about with Keane on the left against United and Lennon in the hole against Chelsea when Kranjcar could have come in as a like-for-like replacement. He won't be able to play in tonight's game after previously playing for Portsmouth in the competition so he will have to wait for his first start in Tottenham colours.
"The match with Preston offers Harry the chance to have a better look at his fringe players such as David Bentley and Giovani Dos Santos. He'll want to keep them involved but it's up to them to convince Harry they deserve the chance to break into the Tottenham first team. The manager likes to rotate his squad in terms of buying and selling on a regular basis so this is a big chance for some of these players to prove they have a future with the club.
"The last two results have shown just how reliant Spurs are on Wilson Palacios. He hasn't been at his best and that shows that if Tottenham are to compete with the very best, the Honduran needs to be playing at his maximum powers. This is particularly the case if he is partnered with big Tom Huddlestone in the centre of the park.
"Now Tom is one of the best around when he is on the ball but unfortunately for him 50% of a midfielder's game is centred on when the team don't have the ball and that's where he struggles sometimes. Physically he has to be at his peak every week if he is to be a major player in the Premier League and if he slips below that, the game often passes him by.
"Tottenham will be facing a decent Preston side in the Carling Cup. This will be a test without their main centre-halves but at least Michael Dawson has returned to the squad. He is not at the same level as King or Woodgate but he is still a good centre-half in his own right.

McCarthy goes on the attack

Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy is determined that his side will go to Old Trafford and attack against Manchester United in the third round of the Carling Cup.
McCarthy's men are likely to face a second string United side, but the Molineux chief is still expecting a stiff test of his side's mettle.
He told the club's official website: "We want to try and win the game.
"I don't know what team Sir Alex Ferguson will play, but whoever it is will be quality players who would be Premier League players at most other clubs.
"We'll go there and give it a go - we certainly wouldn't want to sit back and let them attack us for 90 minutes, because that would be a recipe for disaster and we'd get slapped.
"Letting them have the ball and pass it around and I'd come away feeling rubbish that we'd not even attempted to be on the front foot.
"We'll go up there and try and get on the front foot.
"This is a chance for us to go to Old Trafford and play a game with one of the best teams without any points being at stake.
"There is the next round at stake but we all know if we were talking about three points or getting in the next round we'd take the points."

Vela return delights Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed the performance of Mexican striker Carlos Vela, who scored in the 2-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion in the Carling Cup third round.
The 20-year-old was making his first appearance of the season for the Gunners and wasted little time in getting on the scoresheet.
Wenger told the club's official website: "When he came on straight away he made a difference because he is dangerous in his control and in his movement.
"His class gives you something special but I feel overall it was a good game.
"It would have been a great game certainly if it had stayed 11 against 11, but we were patient and we played with cohesion and intelligence. We didn't make mistakes and in the end the natural outcome was there.
"Carlos needs more time, he is not ready. He was not even ready to start tonight but he needs to work. We have Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo and Vela as strikers, because we count Theo Walcott more as a midfielder, as a right-winger.
"Of course he (Vela) is in my plans, he can play as a winger as well. He can play wide left, wide right, he can play central, he gives you plenty of options."

Hart cool over Pompey pair

Manager Paul Hart confirmed that minor injuries kept both David James and Tal Ben-Haim out of Portsmouth's 3-1 Carling Cup third round victory at Carlisle United.
Pompey picked up a morale-boosting win, with Hart's men having lost six out of six in the Premier League this term.
PAUL HART
Hart told The News: "Ben Haim had a sore calf so didn't travel. I would think he'll be fine for Everton.
"We gave David time out, too. He is very important to us and we want to make sure he's there to play also.
"I was delighted with the players that came in, though. It's not easy when you don't play week in, week out and then you have to come to get a result.
"I thought their attitude was excellent. Considering some haven't played for a long while I've got to be very pleased.
"Still, the majority of them are experienced players so I expected them to put in performances and they did."

Allardyce: Rovers had quality

Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce believed that a touch of extra quality was crucial in his side's 1-0 victory at in the third round of the Carling Cup.
A Benni McCarthy free-kick proved decisive at the City Ground, leaving Allardyce pleased with a job well done.
SAM ALLARDYCE
He said: "Benni meant to do that, we practice it in training all the time.
"We always practice to hit the target as the goalkeeper can't do anything about it, as there's a cluster of players there that may get a touch.
"So if someone gets a touch it can go in and if someone doesn't the goalkeeper is left stranded and it goes in the back of the net.
"It's the quality of the ball from that angle to get it on target that was the difference in quality between the teams.
"That outstanding free-kick and Jason Brown's absolutely superb penalty save from a very well-taken penalty was the quality that won us the game.
"Overall I'm delighted. It was a tough match like we expected and we came through with no injury problems and gave a lot of players some really good football to catch up with match fitness.
"With a squad of our size it's important to give players some high-quality time on the pitch."

Elmander goal pleases Megson

Bolton Wanderers boss Gary Megson was pleased to see striker Johan Elmander get on the scoresheet in the 3-1 Carling Cup victory at home to West Ham.
The Sweden international has struggled to make his mark since joining the Trotters in the summer of 2008 from Toulouse, netting just six goals in 36 appearances.

Megson said after his striker's effort against the Hammers: "Johan was so desperate to score he was snatching at it.
"If he takes his time, with the quality he has, I'm sure he will finish more, but that will do him the world of good.
"Everyone is concerned about his lack of goals, none more so than Johan.
"He wants to do well and if his personality was different and he thought 'stuff it, I can't be bothered', he probably would have scored before now.
"But because he gets so intense and is so determined to score at times he is not relaxed.
"I really do hope that goal relaxes him a bit because the arrival of Ivan Klasnic will put both him and Kevin Davies under pressure.
"But I'm not ready to give up on Johan Elmander and no-one at the club is either