After the 3-0 defeat, McCarthy defended his stance, stating that he could not expect the same players that produced a heroic performance at Tottenham on Saturday to deliver again three days later.

With a more winnable encounter with Burnley looming on Sunday, McCarthy took the decision to make mass changes.

The decision seems certain to go unpunished by the Premier League, who last night indicated an unwillingness to get involved in the issue because the modern game is based on the use of squads, which Alex Ferguson himself has used plenty of times in the past.

However, the 3,000 travelling Wolves fans were not impressed judging by their chants of “we want out money back”, “where is our first team” and “£40 to watch the reserves”.

Macari believes they have a point.

“It is a nonsense,” he said. “These lads are professional footballers. They should be ready to play.

“What are they going to do, sit with their feet up for five days waiting for Burnley?

“This is not what football is about. It is about trying to win matches.

“If you don’t play well, you tend to get beaten. If you play well, you might win. It has nothing to do with whether you rest players or not.”