An interesting article from the E&S:
Fitness first factor of success Mick McCarthyMick McCarthy has urged Wolves fans to sit back and enjoy the club's excellent start - after revealing a secret of their success: Fitness. Wolves have sealed their best start for 46 years on the back of six successive wins which has yielded more points (19) and more goals (21) than any other team in the country. Supporters are already comparing McCarthy's young, pacy side to Stan Cullis' 1950s greats of Wright, Mullen and Broadbent and the swashbuckling team of the early 1970s of Dougan, Richards and Wagstaffe under Bill McGarry. While the pragmatic Molineux chief finally admits he's enjoying himself, the fans are those he wants to indulge themselves. He said: "It's the supporters' brief in life to get excited, upset, frustrated, disappointed, angry, absolutely overjoyed and thrilled. "That's what being a football supporter is all about. We keep trying to churn out results and at the moment we're doing it. <http://oas.expressandstar.co.uk/5c/www.expressandstar.com/sport/1691119274/ Frame1/default/empty.gif/64636566626562323437323532336130> "Let me tell you - we're enjoying it and it makes my life a lot easier in terms of picking the side. Maybe those out the team are more 'at it', but everyone - from players coming into training every day, to walking in the ticket office, or the commercial office - is feeling great about themselves. "It's easier to sell flags and scarves and shirts and tickets and it's lovely for the football club."Wolves have swept aside opposition through their ability to close teams down when they are out of possession, while hitting them by breaking at pace and flooding the box when they have the ball. Both Cullis and McGarry placed great stock on fitness and McCarthy's advice to fans comes with an insight into his footballing philosophy - pinpointing fitness coach Tony Daley's contribution as a key factor. McCarthy said: "They way we train and the way we've always trained is high intensity. Terry (Connor, assistant boss) is the same and we're very similar in the way we play the game. "Having lost 'Taff' (Ian Evans), he's been a great foil for me, and Tony Daley has been a huge boost to the place. "Kunle (Odetoyinbo) did a fine job, but Tony has taken on that mantle and took it further and further and I think the players have benefitted from it. "But he's not trying to make silk purses out of sow's ears - they've got the talent to start with in terms of fitness. We've got youth on our side. I seem to remember being asked whether the team was too young. "But I said no, because as a team, it's got games under its belt, legs, pace and fitness. It's a young man's game - the fitter you are, the more chance you've got of getting results. "I watched the first half against Preston again on Monday and there was only one reason why they were all frustrated at the referee and trying to give me abuse - because we played them off the park. "The players worked their socks off and their players found it very difficult to play against.We've just 'had it off' a little bit, that's all. There are turning points in games. "We're playing well and making our own luck. You don't draw one and win six on the bounce if you're not playing well - we're not playing poor teams. "It's damned hard work that's getting us there." McCarthy and owner-chairman Steve Morgan made a conscious decision to cash in on the team's youth and energy by lengthening the Molineux pitch by five yards in the summer. The manager believes Wolves are starting to see the benefits. He said: "You might find Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday players were thinking that at times it was a bloody big pitch. "But it was a big pitch before. Lengthening it isn't going to do it any harm. We took the view that we have got a young side who can get about the pitch." Championship teams are being pulverised by Wolves' power play at the moment, but McCarthy's feet are planted firmly on the ground and he believes results perhaps paint a better picture than things really are. He said: "It looks that way when you're winning. We beat Crystal Palace and didn't look great all of the time. "When you're playing well and winning it's amazing how the sun's shining, the car looks clean, the grass has been cut, the flowers are flowering, the birds are chirping and the sun doesn't go down until 9pm. "As soon as you lose, the flowers are dead, it goes dark at 5pm and it doesn't stop raining. I go to the curry house and suddenly don't get a smile. Everything changes. That's the way I am. "We've got goalscorers - at the moment - and if we'd had the standard of finishing we've got now, we'd have beaten Bristol City, Southampton and QPR here last season, and beaten Barnsley and Plymouth more convincingly. "We'd have had a lot more points." Paul Crowe Contech (Sydney Office) PO Box 3517 Rhodes Waterside Rhodes NSW 2138 Tel: 02 97396636 Fax: 02 97396542 Mob: 0406009562 Email; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: www.contechengineering.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ ============================================== Pig's pudding - it's a mons dinner aer kid ============================================== -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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