Wolves v Preston preview

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Preston North End

Molineux

Kick off 3pm

Matt Murray’s “nice guy” image at Molineux has been put to the test by the excitement surrounding Wayne Hennessey’s progress – but the big man is still smiling.

While Hennessey was making a headline-grabbing penalty save in the Black Country derby, the injury-cursed Murray was heading back for a minor operation in his efforts to overcome his knee injury.

The good news for Murray is that the surgery has not altered the time-line for his comeback – he should be playing again in early Spring when Wolves hope they will be heading for the crunch phase of a promotion challenge.

But after what seemed to be the end of his troubles with last season’s terrific comeback, it is difficult not to feel for Murray as he watches his young apprentice steal his thunder.

“The team has been doing really well which is great and Wayne has been flying,” he said.

“I’m really pleased for him – but also a bit envious, I want to be out there pushing him!

“But he’s always supported me brilliantly in the past so obviously I’m happy to be supporting him.

Flying

“I had a little setback the other day and had to have a tiny operation on my knee.

“I’ve had enough injuries and enough operations to know this happens – there’s never a completely smooth ride all the way back to fitness.

“Hopefully this will be the last little setback and I’ll be back pushing again soon.

“I’d been absolutely flying with the work I was doing, the knee actually felt better a couple of weeks ago than it had when I was playing all last season.

“So it was a bit disappointing to get the problem, but it’s not anything major.

“The surgeon is happy with how the graft is looking so we’re still hopefully looking at about three months.

“It isn’t something that should put me back and I’m still hoping for February or March, to be available if needed or at least boost the squad.”

But he acknowledges that not even his presence could give Wolves a more solid look after four clean sheets in a row.

“Defensively, I’ve got to say the team looks so solid and the clean sheets have been great.

“Hopefully we can start getting a few more goals, but as long as the three points keep coming in that’s what matters and everyone’s happy.”

Preston are in the way of that ambition tomorrow when Murray will again be looking down from the stands hoping Wolves can cement their position in the top six – but his point about greater goal power easing the pressure on Hennessey and his defenders is well made.

Wolves have managed just 19 goals from their 18 games so far this season, which is not that much different from last season’s painstaking progress through the first half of the campaign, which brought 18 goals from the 20 games completed by November’s close.

It is the much improved defending – and Wolves were hardly deficient in that department a year ago – which has given Mick McCarthy’s side a goal difference in the positive and a station nine places higher.

But with Michael Kightly missing for the pre-Christmas run and Seyi Olofinjana also restricted by injury before he flies off to the African championships, Wolves’ goal power is the key issue of concern for McCarthy.

Olofinjana admitted: “We’re one of the most consistent sides in the division, but we’re not scoring enough goals.

“We have to keep working at our finishing and it will happen sooner or later. But the games come so quickly at this time of the season so we could do with it being sooner.

“I set myself a standard last season and I would have been happier even with two or three goals at this stage. I’m so disappointed in myself though that I have managed only one.

“The endeavour is there and we must all keep working hard to make that difference.”