Boss Joe Royle felt his side could have been more than two goals down at half-time after a woeful first half display against Wolves at Molineux. The Town manager thought the Blues improved after the break but still caused the home defence few problems.

Royle said: "We just didn't start. In some ways we were fortunate it was only two at half-time, although we could have had a couple ourselves.

"We came here looking for a nice game and they weren't going to give us a nice game. They were in our faces.

"We were better in the second half but there still wasn't a big threat. [The watching] Mick McCarthy has gone away with a big smile on his face but he's not daft. He knows we will be better against his team on Sunday."

Wolves manager Glenn Hoddle said his side's performance was not untypical of their recent form: "We have come close to playing like that before, it was not out of the blue.

"It was a magnificent performance all across the field from start to finish. If there's a negative, it's that we didn't score more.

"But all credit to their keeper. He made three world-class saves but we have proved to everyone tonight that we are a good side.

"Joe Royle has changed his side's shape on a night when they needed three points and that shows respect.

"We played some excellent football on a difficult pitch but we have been playing well for many weeks and could easily have won 10 of the 14 games we've drawn while I've been here."

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