SOCCER:HIS RECORD in the Championship had the bookmakers quoting him as a front-runner for the Leeds job by lunchtime but Mick McCarthy paid the price yesterday morning for his persistent problems in the top flight when the patience of Wolves owner Steve Morgan finally ran out and the former Republic of Ireland boss was sacked.

In the face of criticism from fans and run-ins with his employer, McCarthy said on various occasions recently that he still believed that he had done a good job during his five and a half years in charge at Molineux and that, in spite of the club’s constant battle for Premier League survival, he still thought he was the best man to lead the club forward.

Even as they showed him the door yesterday, the Wolves hierarchy didn’t contest the first claim, but clearly they had lost faith in the truth of the second and the club will now, according to chief executive Jez Moxley look for someone with the experience required to turn things around.

“Mick McCarthy has done a fantastic job but if we continued in this way we were definitely going to be relegated,” he said.

“The trend was only going one way and when we lost 5-1 at home to West Brom we had to act. It’s a decision we’ve taken with a heavy heart but we have to act in the best interests of the club.”

The former Millwall and Sunderland boss may well feel hard done by given the state Wolves were in when he succeeded Glenn Hoddle in July 2006.

He cobbled together a team almost from nothing, won promotion with them within a couple of years and then kept them up twice, albeit after a very close shave last season. But he still can’t have been hugely surprised.

Deprived of significant transfer funds last summer when it is said he was offered both Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye, two of the stand-out stars of Newcastle United’s remarkable run of form in recent months, he then struggled to strengthen in the January transfer window, in part because of the club’s wage structure.

He did not always help himself, however, and many people point to his decision to appoint Roger Johnson – the biggest signing he did manage to make last summer – as team captain as a significant error of judgement that caused problems in the dressingroom.

The arrival into it of Morgan after the recent home defeat by Liverpool to berate the players probably caused McCarthy just as many, though.

Things finally came to a head as the owner, who is on a skiing holiday, watched on television as Wolves were hammered 5-1 by bitter rivals West Brom.

Even McCarthy had to admit afterwards that his players had “capitulated”, with the manager reduced to issuing an apology for what was a genuinely hapless performance.

It was Wolves’ fourth straight home defeat and came a week after a win at QPR had ended a run of 11 games in all competitions without a victory.

The three points taken in London had lifted the club out of the relegation zone but, having taken just 14 points from their last 22 league games, they were back there on goal difference on Sunday evening.

Still, McCarthy commanded considerable loyalty from his players who were said to be deeply upset for him yesterday. “I think we feel like we let him down, of course we do,” admitted Ireland international Stephen Ward.

“Obviously, as players we feel we should be higher up the league but for whatever reason we’re not . . . so you feel a bit guilty. It’s a strange feeling. It’s the first time I’ve been around a club when this has happened. Everyone is very down; it’s not nice especially when it’s someone who’s done so much for of a lot of us.”

Ward said the mood around the club was sombre as the news spread but that McCarthy accepted it with considerable dignity as the players, many of whom had been given major breaks by the 53-year-old, wished him the best for the future.

“I went in and thanked him for giving me the chance to play in the Premier League. He was also the man who made me into a left-back, not many others would’ve seen it – so I owe him a lot.

“He also had a chat with the rest of the Irish lads. He told us we were going well with Ireland, wished us all the best in the summer, and said he’ll be watching. That was nice of him.

“There were a few emotional words in there. A lot of us were playing at lower levels when he bought us so there’s a lot of respect for him. It was understandable that he was a bit upset, but he said it straight as he always does.

“He told us the main thing is to stay in the Premier League and that’s all there is now; we can’t do anything about anything else.”