Mick McCarthy today challenged Wolves to show a mean streak to win their Premier League survival battle.

McCarthy and his players have targeted four wins or 40 points to stay up as they head into tomorrow’s showdown with Tottenham.

But the Molineux chief believes Wolves need to return to the stubborn form that saw them win three and draw four of their last 10 games last season, with three clean sheets.

“Not getting beaten is going to be vital towards the end of the season, because we have to pick up points – however they should come, in ones or threes,” said the Wolves boss, in a hint he will retain the 4-5-1 system he used in last week’s 4-0 win against Blackpool.

“If we play as well as we can, we can beat any one of them here – and we’re going to have to pick something up away from home as well.”

Spurs are the last top-six side Wolves have to play this season and McCarthy admitted he is concerned about having to play so many of the strugglers with Wolves having suffered six defeats to teams around them in 2010-11.

“I’m ‘bricking’ it – the top ones are a piece of cake for us!” he said.

“It’s the teams at the bottom that I’m worried about.

“Hopefully it will be different for us when we play them again.

“We’re coming up to the end of the season, we’re all looking for points, we’re all going to be nervy.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy challenged Nenad Milijas to give him a selection headache.

Jamie O’Hara’s ineligibility and injuries to David Jones (knee) and Dave Edwards (back) have opened the way up again for the Serbia playmaker to return to the starting line-up tomorrow after he was substituted against Albion and dropped against Blackpool.

“With David Jones out and Dave Edwards struggling, he’s in my thoughts, but he’d be in my thoughts anyway,” said the boss.

McCarthy denied Milijas has been unlucky, adding: “I pick the team to win games and we beat Blackpool last weekend – I don’t care if he’s unlucky or not.

“I’ll tell you how he’d be really unlucky – if I play him against Spurs and he scores the winner and then I play Jamie O’Hara the following game. So there’s the challenge for him – score the winner and give me a problem.”