Jody Craddock has cranked up the stakes for Wolves’ players in the promotion run-in by claiming they’re the best team he’s seen in six years at Molineux.

The club captain has seen them come and go, since former boss Dave Jones paid £1.75million to sign him from Sunderland after Wolves clinched promotion in 2003.

Craddock played in the Premier League team packed with character and experience which included Denis Irwin, Paul Ince, Alex Rae, Colin Cameron, Nathan Blake and Kenny Miller

But no side has been more successful, led a table for as long or scored the amount of goals as the current Wolves in Craddock’s time.

The 33-year-old is convinced Mick McCarthy’s Class of 2009 have more about them than previous sides.

Craddock said: ““We’ve had some good teams at this club. The position shows this is the best team.

“When Glenn Hoddle was here, we had a really good team but we just couldn’t score. This team could be under the cosh for 89 minutes, but we look like we can score in the last minute.

“It was a tough time for the Premier League team – we just weren’t good enough. Most of this team have been together at least a couple of years, so we’ve got a good, solid base.”

The veteran centre-half even believes the current young squad can blossom together in the top flight, supplemented by a few signings.

He said: “You get a lot of money for getting into the Premier League and this team would need strengthening, but there’s a very good base here.

“There are some great players here – I look at Sylvan (Ebanks-Blake) and I think he could play in the Premier League now.

“It’s important we keep these players (like Sylvan, Michael Kightly and Matt Jarvis) here and they grow with the club.”