Aston Villa striker Robbie Keane scores double to push Wolves manager Mick McCarthy closer to exit door McCarthy was provoked into fighting talk when his own supporters ridiculed his tactics during the home game with Swansea last October - tactics which ultimately retrieved a point - and two subsequent home wins appeared to give him breathing space but that seems a long time ago now. It is 10 games, including a woeful FA Cup loss to Birmingham City, since the Old Gold celebrated a win, this latest reverse plunging them into the relegation places for the first time this season. The next three matches should decide his fate, starting with a home game against Liverpool, a trip to a Queens Park Rangers outfit who already look more sprightly under Mark Hughes and then, maybe decisively, the Black Country squabble with West Bromwich Albion on Feb 12. Should a win not materialise, McCarthy can expect a P45, rather than a card, through the post by Valentine's Day. His woes are compounded by the absence of Karl Henry in that formidable trio of fixtures following the midfielder's red card for studding Marc Albrighton. Only time will reveal the extent of a badly bruised swollen eye sustained by the influential Emmanuel Frimpong from Stiliyan Petrov's right boot. The on-loan Arsenal player, who had performed well, was carried off on a stretcher and with Henry's dismissal in the 75th minute Aston Villa seized the initiative after being run ragged in the first half when goals from Michael Kightly and David Edwards secured a merited lead to overturn Darren Bent's early penalty. Keane, making his full debut after signing on loan from LA Galaxy, had already levelled before Frimpong's departure but it was the Irishman's blistering 25-yard shot that stole all three points - a "breath of fresh air" as his manager Alex McLeish called it, and a perfect 53rd birthday present for the Scot. "He looks older than that," laughed Keane who also scored against the club where his impressive career began on his last visit here, for Spurs in 2004.