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Michael Kightly insists Wolves’ established young and hungry brigade will repay manager Mick McCarthy’s faith in them by ensuring Premier League survival.

Wolves have spent a relatively modest £15m on six summer signings to strengthen their squad after winning the Championship in May, with their main business completed.

Only three of those – centre-back Ronald Zubar, central midfielder Nenad Milijas and £6.5m record signing striker Kevin Doyle – look to be first choices as the vast majority of the Championship title winners seem set to be given the chance to test themselves in the Premier League.

Kightly believes he and his team-mates can justify McCarthy’s faith.

“We’ve got a good squad here. I heard James McCarthy is a good player but he chose to go to Wigan and that’s fair enough,” said the winger. “But we’ve got enough good players here to do a good job in the Premier League and hopefully we can prove that.

“We feel we’re young enough and good enough to make that step up and we’ve got to prove that.

“We’re only going to get experience of the Premier League by playing in there so why not give us a chance and I’m sure that’s what’s going to happen. With the new players we’ve got they can only help us.”

Kightly will be contesting the right wing berth with Greg Halford and the winger says the established players will thrive on the competition.

“We expect it. If that wasn’t the case we would be disappointed. We’re a Premier League club now and we want to be pushed to the level we want to play at,” he said.

“We know if we’re not playing well we’re not going to play. That’s fair enough and is the same at any other club.”

But he says the new arrivals have blended into the well-established team spirit running through the camp.

“The new players are great lads and good players and the gaffer is not silly. He looks at people not only to see how good a player they are but what they are like as a person,” he said.

“They have all settled in really well and gelled as a team.”

Reading finished eighth in the Premier League a season after winning the Championship and Kightly believes Wolves can follow suit.

“Reading did it a few years back and they hardly changed their team and they finished eighth. If they can do it why can’t we?” he added.

“Realistically we’d take staying up right now but if we start the season flying who knows? We’re just taking each game as it comes.”

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