Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has defended his decision to axe last season's leading scorer Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and believes he has shown the player more than a fair share of loyalty.
Ebanks-Blake scored 25 times last season in helping Wolves gain promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship. But the former Plymouth player has only netted one penalty in the Barclays Premier League this season and was not even amongst the substitutes for Tuesday's goalless draw at home with Liverpool
"You can show a player loyalty, support and encouragement and I have played him for around 18 of the last 20 games," he said. "But eventually you have to think about making a change and we've got people here like Chris Iwelumo and Stefan Maierhofer chomping at the bit to play."
McCarthy confirmed that Ebanks-Blake will be travelling with the squad to Saturday's vital relegation battle with Hull, but believes he made the right decision in leaving him out against the Reds.
He added: "Sylvan is a striker who has got his kudos in the game from scoring goals.
"He has played well in some games this season but it does come to the point where it is not getting easier to score and he has to come out of the side."
McCarthy is still looking to bring in new blood before the transfer window closes next week, but insists he only wants to sign players fully committed to helping Wolves gain top flight survival.
He is frustrated with the complex nature of negotiations and demands of players and their agents in the modern era.
He said: "When Michael Mancienne came here on loan, all he said was 'Where do you want me to sign?' and it was a breath of fresh air.
"Normally these days players want all sorts of things such as get-out clauses if a team is relegated, bonuses if a team stays up, and many more things like that. At the end of the day I want players to come here who are fully committed to keeping the club in this division."
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