Wolves manager Mick McCarthy today warned bitter rivals West Brom: “Lose to us tomorrow and you could go down.”

Victory for Wolves at The Hawthorns by more than a goal would put the Molineux men out of the relegation zone for only the second time since the end of September – and drop the Baggies into the Premier League bottom three.

The huge importance of the first Premier League Black Country derby is underlined by the fact that defeat for Wolves would put them six points adrift on a weekend when there are no other top flight fixtures because of the FA Cup fifth round.

But McCarthy is concentrating on what effect defeat would have on their rivals.

“Dropping into the bottom three with 10 or 11 games to go when you’ve been out of it can be devastating,” he said.

“Effectively you’re going in the wrong direction then.

“If you drop into it, there’s obviously been a downward slide and everybody’s thought process is that the next step is to drop out of the league.

“We’ve been there scrapping away but our mentality is we’ll get out of it and we’ve got games left to do it.”

McCarthy added: “It has an effect on the whole club when you drop into it – the players, the staff, everybody around the place.

“I don’t play mind games, it’s just a fact. If anyone drops in they’re going in the wrong direction but we can’t go any further down.

“For all our inconsistency, we’re still in the mix.”

McCarthy also called for cool heads.

“There’s always intimidation and the crowd are more vociferous,” he said.

“But referees are aware of the size of the game.

“I don’t want anyone running around like a headless chicken and getting sent off.

“It ruins the game – especially if it’s one of ours.”