Soccer:Republic of Ireland international Kevin Doyle insists he never lost respect for sacked Wolves boss Mick McCarthy even though he was ousted as the club's first-choice striker by Steven Fletcher.

Doyle regrets the departure of McCarthy and has followed the example of skipper Roger Johnson in admitting the players have to take a large slice of the responsibility.

Wolves were today stepping up their search for a replacement, with Alan Curbishley set to be interviewed and Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock also in contention. And Doyle said: “I didn’t play for probably the last month but it didn’t change my feelings towards the manager.

“I still respected him 100 per cent and wanted to do well for him. Players wanted to do well for him and that makes it a bit harder when he does have to leave. We all respected him massively and got on with him as a person and not just as a manager.”

Doyle added: “We all feel culpable, we’re all all part of it and I just wish we could have played that bit better and not ended up with the manager having to leave. It’s not nice for it to end like that.”

Wolves are set to interview the leading candidates to replace McCarthy over the next two days and hope to make a decision on his successor by early next week. Curbishley has impressed club owner Steve Morgan and will end a three-and-a-half year absence from the game if his appointment is eventually confirmed.