Wolves eyeing up McDermott

The initial plan was to appoint a manager with top-flight experience and former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce remains in the wings waiting to see if he will be granted a second interview.

But Wolves owner Steve Morgan and chief executive Jez Moxey have now turned their attention to the leading lights of the Championship and are set to seek permission to speak to McDermott.

Brighton & Hove Albion's Gus Poyet is also attracting interest although Wolves has denied reports it has made an approach.

But in any case a compensation figure believed to be around £2 million ($2.97 million) - Poyet still has four years left of his contract - is likely to prove a stumbling block.

Sacked Huddersfield Tow boss Lee Clark is the bookmakers second favourite behind Bruce but is believed not to have been approached.

It is McDermott who is understood to be at the forefront of Wolves' current plans and being only on a one-year rolling contract means compensation would be considerably less than that for Poyet.

He led the Royals to the play-off final last May and has mounted another strong promotion push this season after the £9 million ($13.35 million) sale of striker Shane Long, to West Bromwich Albion, and defender Matt Mills, to Leicester City.

The former Arsenal winger has shown himself capable of working under financial constraints and brought in Kaspars Gorkss and Adam Le Fondre as replacements for Long and Mills for a total £1.2 million ($1.78 million).

McDermott replaced Brendan Rodgers as Reading caretaker manager in December 2009 and earned the job on a full-time basis the following month after Reading achieved a shock FA Cup win over Liverpool.

He will also have the support in the Wolves dressing room of striker Kevin Doyle and midfielder Stephen Hunt who worked with him at Reading.

Bruce impressed when meeting Morgan and Moxey last Friday and has the Premier League experience earned during 10 years with Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Sunderland.

But there has been a negative reaction to his possible appointment from some sections of Wolves fans.

McCarthy's number two, Terry Connor, is currently in charge of the squad preparing for this weekend's trip to Newcastle United but progress in finding McCarthy's successor is slower than initially anticipated.