THE failure of Wolves' big-money signings cost Dave Jones his job on Monday, but close friend Mick McCarthy was able to reflect on a more productive use of the transfer market as two of his bargain buys fired Sunderland to third place in the Championship last night.

Stephen Elliott's eighth goal of the season sandwiched two superb strikes from midfielder Liam Lawrence as the Black Cats maintained their unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light, despite trailing to Kenny Miller's opener at the interval.

While Jones splashed the cash in an attempt to keep his side in the Premiership last season, McCarthy invested £175,000 in former Mansfield midfielder Lawrence and shelled out £125,000 to prise Elliott from Manchester City's reserve side.

The pair looked to be worth considerably more than that in an impressive second half display, which earned a win that had looked unlikely at the break.

Lawrence's performance was particularly eye-catching and, after struggling to break into the team for the last two months, the 22-year-old David Beckham lookalike is finally scoring the kind of goals for which his more famous double is renowned.

The win leaves the Black Cats in their highest league position of the season, while Wolves are in disarray after sacking Jones.

Wolves chairman Rick Hayward described last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Gillingham as "unacceptable", but there was little in the visitors' bright start last night to suggest a crisis in confidence.

Stephen Caldwell was called into emergency action after just 25 seconds, sliding across his own penalty area to dispossess the marauding Miller.

Then Shaun Newton made two early charges up the left flank, which suggested Wolves would not be content with damage limitation.

Most of Sunderland's first half play revolved around the natural width provided by Lawrence and Julio Arca.

But while the duo posed a threat going forward, their attacking runs initially left both Danny Collins and Stephen Wright exposed when the visitors counter-attacked.

The Black Cats were stretched by Miller's pace all night, and they paid the price for temporarily switching off when the Scotland international fired Wolves ahead in the 18th minute.

Caldwell failed to track his run as he latched on to Mikkel Bischoff's through ball and, while fellow centre-half Gary Breen had the foresight to follow him, the Sunderland skipper was left marking thin air as Miller swivelled ten yards out and curled a deft finish beyond the helpless Thomas Myhre.

McCarthy was linked with a possible move for the former Rangers striker this summer so, like Crewe's Dean Ashton before him, there was a certain inevitability about the former transfer target coming back to haunt the Black Cats boss with a goal.

Ashton's goal had cancelled out a Carl Robinson opener in August and, had it not been for the agility of Wolves goalkeeper Michael Oakes, the Wales international would have hauled Sunderland back on to level terms last night.

Robinson looked to have powered home a close-range header after surging onto Marcus Stewart's right-wing cross, but Oakes somehow tipped the ball on to the crossbar and away to safety.

The resultant corner saw the Black Cats go close again, but Newton nodded Wright's header off the line before Oakes parried a fierce Arca drive as Wolves struggled to clear their lines.

That flurry of activity masked an increasingly disjointed display, with Robinson and Jeff Whitley conceding possession cheaply in midfield and Marcus Stewart rendered largely anonymous in the face of Bischoff's dogged defending.

The former Ipswich striker struggled to capitalise on a series of high balls thrown into the box and, while strike partner Elliott forced Oakes into a smart stop on the stroke of half-time, the Wolves backline was rarely tested in the opening period.

Stewart was replaced by Michael Bridges after the break - McCarthy opting to give the fans' favourite his longest run-out since rejoining the Black Cats in September - but with the substitute struggling to make an impact, it was left to Lawrence to fire Sunderland level 12 minutes after the break.

After opening his account from the spot on Saturday, the former Mansfield midfielder scored his first goal from open play as he received Arca's pull-back on the edge of the box and bent an exquisite curler into the top right-hand corner of the net.

The goal had come from nowhere but, with Sunderland visibly lifted, Elliott wasted a fine opportunity to put his side ahead when he shot wastefully wide after losing his marker 12 yards out.

The 20-year-old quickly made amends, adding to his growing catalogue of sweetly-hit strikes in the 68th minute.

With his back to goal as he was picked out by Arca, the youngster took one touch to juggle the ball into the air and another to fire an unstoppable half-volley beyond Oakes and into the back of the net via the underside of the crossbar.

The complexion of the game had changed entirely and, with Sunderland attacking at will, a third goal always looked on the cards.

It duly arrived ten minutes from time and, on a night of sublime strikes, Lawrence made it three goals in the space of four days with another flamboyant finish.

Arca was again the instigator and, when the Argentinian crossed from the goalline, Lawrence was on hand to fire home a clinical volley from the six-yard line