McCarthy's side came through a third-round replay against npower Championship side Doncaster to set up Sunday's fourth-round assignment against Stoke at Molineux.
Their efforts to stave off the threat of relegation back to the second tier may be the main focus of the former Republic of Ireland international's attentions, but he is well aware of the boost of confidence a good cup run would give his players.
McCarthy said: "I got to the semi-finals when I was managing Sunderland and I won two finals as a player in Scotland and it's great to win these competitions.
"Those medals in the cupboard are nice and I would love to get there but we know the importance of the Premier League. But it will be interesting to see what people do as sides get knocked out and they end up in the fifth or sixth round.
"That run at Sunderland (in 2004) was not detrimental to us in the league and we ended up in the play-offs. You get a great buzz out of it and if we could do it and link it with our league games then great."
Source: PA
Source: PA