Wolves can take title insists Mick

Mick McCarthy has declared Wolves can win the Championship title for the first time – breaking the club's vow of silence on the possibility of promotion.

The Wolves boss insisted for the first time in public after yesterday's 2-2 draw against Cardiff that the Championship leaders can finish top of the pile.

McCarthy's confident statement goes against the board's pre-season ban on the 'P' word designed to quell promotion expectations.

Despite winning just one of their last 10 games, the draw extended Wolves' lead by a point to four ahead of second-placed Birmingham and five clear of Reading with 12 matches left after they both lost on Saturday to Coventry and Bristol City respectively.

McCarthy is convinced that if players and fans share the belief, the title and Premier League football will be coming to Molineux.

"We want to win the league and I still believe we can," he said. "If we have a collective belief, we can do it.

"We need that belief from everyone, and not anticipation of some sort of disaster."

Wolves have now taken the lead in six of their last 10 games and failed to win.

Yesterday, Syvlan Ebanks-Blake put the hosts in front after 11 minutes before Michael Chopra (31) and Roger Johnson (48) struck for the Bluebirds.

But Wolves snatched a point nine minutes from time after keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos fumbled Kyel Reid's cross over the line.

And McCarthy paid tribute to his team's spirit, saying: "I love the attitude of the players because it's never-say-die. It proves the spirit and desire is there.

"They had the stuffing knocked out of them by that second goal and came back to get a point. We always seem to be playing uphill – giving a goal away and having to come back into it."

McCarthy was today assessing the fitness of Matt Jarvis (knee) and Stephen Ward, the latter after he came off with what appeared to be a leg injury.

Meanwhile new signing Christophe Berra held his hands up and admitted blame for Cardiff's second goal.

He lost scorer Roger Johnson, who flashed a bullet header past Wayne Hennessey.

"I was pleased with my overall performance, but the second goal came from the guy I was supposed to be marking and I was disappointed, said the former Hearts captain.

"The guy just got away from me a bit."

By TIM NASH