7even

Mick McCarthy has laid out his expectation for Wolves next three fixtures.

An uncompromising two wins and a draw.

Currently sitting in 11th, and only 5 points off a play off spot, Wolves take on Preston on Tuesday knowing they have two games in hand on three of their promotion rivals, and are a long way off being out of the promotion shake up.

It's still all to play for. There are a lot of teams that will think they are in with a real chance,' he told the clubs official site.

'Our goal is to get at least seven points from the next three games.'

To achieve that they are going to have to be considerably more on the ball than against Southampton when they conceded a sloppy set piece equaliser deep into added time.

To that end, the return of Jody Craddock couldn't come at a better time when level heads and experience will be needed to ensure there are no repeats of a draw snatched from the jaws of victory in those dying seconds.

Play off aspirations are a far cry from the pre season target of automatic promotion, something McCarthy needs no reminder of, no matter how many he gets from the stands.

If only the same could be said of those quick to forget the state the side was in prior to his arival, or the the mutual agreement that managerial stability was a necessity if Wolves are to ever escape the divisional hell of The Championship