Wolves blog: Mood for optimism at Molineux

In the depths of despair during February, most Wolves fans expected a relegation battle to go down to the wire.

Some even thought it was likely Wolves would go down.

But five wins in a row, including six unbeaten, has lifted Wolves eleven points clear of the bottom three with a game in hand.

Of Wolves’ seven remaining games, two are against relegation-battling sides. Two are against teams with very slim chance of reaching the playoff positions, and the other three are against teams in the top six.

Skybet don’t even have Wolves on the relegation market any more – whilst they have now reached the 50-point mark, it would be nice to see them mathematically safe as soon as possible.

If Wolves had to rely on the final three games against Huddersfield (H), Derby (A) and Preston (H), the battle for safety would be a tough task.

The sooner Wolves can mathematically secure safety the better, so preparations for next season can be made concrete and begin.

If Helder Costa does leave, hopefully Jorge Mendes has more Portuguese talents up his sleeve. This may be the model Wolves choose to operate within until promotion, with a conveyor belt of talent coming through the door on a short-term basis.

If he stays, Wolves have a great base to build on with what will hopefully be a successful return of fellow wingers Jordan Graham and Michal Zyro next season.

Wolves’ two out-of-position full backs, right-footed Matt Doherty at left back and centre-midfielder Conor Coady at right back, have performed very well recently.

A lot of play came through Coady against Forest on Tuesday and Doherty played a vital part in Dicko’s goal, dribbling the ball through the middle before picking out Weimann. They have both arguably performed at their best in Wolves colours when in their new positions.

In my last blog, I highlighted the fact that when Lee Evans started a game for Wolves, they picked up an average of over two points per game. Alongside Dave Edwards, this currently looks Wolves’ best central midfield pairing.

Playing Price and Edwards together offers limited passing range, but Evans complements Edwards quite well. This area will need improving and strengthening next season, but for now it is adequate enough.

Whilst Kortney Hause largely kept Britt Assombalonga quiet on Tuesday. He is the kind of striker Wolves could try to sign for next season.

He is mobile and strong, and did well to create space for his first-half chance which Lonergan got down well to stop. Although he has had serious injuries, he has been a solid scorer over his career with an average of one in two.

The only time Wolves have lost at Bristol City since 1993 was last season, when Wolves played the second half in a 3-5-2 formation with Grant Holt up front.

Thankfully, the front line is far more dynamic now.

Wolves have rapidly climbed to the top of the Championship form table. Only Aston Villa have conceded less than Wolves’ three in the last six games, whilst only Brentford and Preston have scored more than Wolves’ ten.

A win, and an overdue goal for Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, would be a nice pre-Easter treat for Wolves.