Wolves will continue their search for a new manager on Friday with Steve Bruce reportedly set to be interviewed by Steve Morgan and Jez Moxey.

Bruce: Set for Wolves interview

Bookmakers favourite Alan Curbishley is understood to have created a favourable impression when he spoke to owner Morgan and chief executive Moxey on Thursday and remains in pole position to replace the sacked McCarthy.

He is believed to have outlined his plans for establishing the midlands club in the Premier League after three years of battling to avoid the drop.

Curbishley showed those qualities in more than a decade in charge at Charlton and also at West Ham and is keen to return to the game after a three and a half year absence.

He was also one of the contenders for the England post in 2006 after Sven Goran Eriksson announced he was quitting after that summer's World Cup in Germany.

But former Birmingham, Wigan and Sunderland boss Bruce is also under sufficient consideration to have been granted the chance to outline his credentials to Morgan and Moxey.

Wolves striker Kevin Doyle believes McCarthy's successor will have a "fighting chance" of ensuring the club stay up despite last weekend's 5-1 mauling by West Brom.

That setback meant Wolves dropped into the bottom three but they do not play again until the trip to Newcastle on February 25.

Republic of Ireland international Doyle said: "We've had ups and downs. But we seem to be reasonably good at bouncing back. We got beat badly by Liverpool and then came back to beat QPR.

"We'll go to Newcastle in a few days time thinking we can bounce back in the same way. We've got games to go where we can pick up points.

"There are a few teams around us we can get above and we've 13 games in which to do it so let's be positive.

We're not cast adrift in anyway, we're not really struggling. We are in a good position to get out of it.

"We've given ourselves a fighting chance. We feel we can pick up points along the way."

Doyle echoed the sentiments of club captain Roger Johnson in admitting the players were to blame for McCarthy's departure on Monday after five and a half years at Molineux.

He said: "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."