Wolverhampton Wanderers chief executive Jez Moxey has admitted that former manager Mick McCarthy should have been ousted sooner.
The ex-Republic of Ireland boss was sacked by the Premier League outfit in February, but his departure failed to reverse the team's fortunes.
"We can all be smart in hindsight. Probably the most talked about subject was the timing of parting with Mick McCarthy," Moxey said.
"We could have, should have perhaps, acted before January. We'll never know if it would have worked if we'd pulled the trigger earlier."
Assistant coach Terry Connor, who was named as interim boss until the end of the season, has yet to pick up a victory with Wolves in 12 attempts, and has seen his side relegated from the top flight.
Moxey explained that McCarthy's dismissal was delayed because there were no viable replacements to appoint at the time.
"They weren't out there. That was part of the reason for holding on to Mick. We do listen to what our fans say but we were not going to appoint Martin O'Neill and he wasn't going to join us," he added.
"We weren't going to appoint Mark Hughes and he wasn't going to join us. I know.
"Take those two out and then try to draw up a list of managers who would have kept us in the Premier League."
Wolves will play their final game in the Premier League against Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
