Mick McCarthy admits Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Andy Keogh will not relinquish their front-line places without a fight.

But the boss believes Sam Vokes and Chris Iwelumo will certainly be pushing hard for starting berths as competition for places hots up.

Sylvan and Andy finished last season as Wolves first choice strikeforce and ended up registering tallies of 25 and 11 goals respectively.

"Remember, we finished the season very well. Everyone has come back to a fresh start, but those two are in pole position because of what they did last season.

"They all want to play and they're as hungry as hell at the moment.

"Andy might not score as many as he deserves, but we score goals from his effort, workrate and movement.

"He drags people around and we create chances because of him.

"You need all sorts of players to make the team work - if you had 10 Sylvan Ebanks-Blakes, you wouldn't win anything.

"You'd score goals but you need a mix. Andy won't score as many as Sylvan, but they're different players.

"If you look at the number of assists Andy provides and what he does, he brings a lot to the party and he'll still get double figures.

"I try to accentuate the positive about what they can do, rather than the negative."

But even if it turns out that Sylvan and Andy do start the Championship season Mick knows Sam and Chris will be breathing down their necks.

"Sam and Chris have both shown themselves to be good players and, just from watching them in training, they're both proper centre forwards," added the boss.

"They stay down the pitch, they stay centrally and want to link it up.

"They know crosses are going to come in and they want to be on the end of them.

"I'm delighted with them - they're both really good players."