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Wolves defender Jody Craddock insists he can score the goals to inspire the club to Premier League safety.

The evergreen 34-year-old defender bagged his third of the season in Saturday’s 4-1 defeat against Arsenal. The headed goal was his third in two games and made him the club’s joint top scorer, alongside hitman Kevin Doyle, after the first brace of his 16-year career in the recent 2-2 draw at Stoke.

Ironically all three have been scored with his head – this after an aerial clash with Everton’s Joseph Yobo left him requiring seven stitches in a gaping head wound.

Craddock has now netted 14 goals in a Wolves career nine short of 200 games and feels he can continue to find the net if the chances come.

He said: “Definitely – I feel if I can get that ball on my head, I can score. I had one chance on Saturday and scored from it which was fantastic.

“It’s hard to get those chances, but the ball in from Matt Jarvis was fantastic, so I was just happy to be on the end of it.

“We still have a long way to go and I’m just pleased to be there helping the boys out. It’s always nice to score goals but it was a great feeling to score two in one game at Stoke.

“The fact those goals helped us clinch a draw made it particularly sweet. It’s a game I’ll remember for a very long time.”

Craddock is now heading towards his best goals total in a Wolves shirt – five – achieved in boss Mick McCarthy’s first season in 2006-07, four of which came in nine-game purple patch in November and December.

The defender’s confidence is shared by McCarthy, who believes the former Sunderland stopper deserves his strike rate for his commitment to getting his head on the ball in the box.

He said: “He scores because he attacks the ball and is brave and good in the air. Someone threw a stat to me before the game that he’d only scored twice in seven years which is a complete piece of nonsense.

“He’s scored every season for me, some fabulous goals. It’s just he hasn’t scored for seven seasons in the Premier League, because he hasn’t been playing there!”

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