Wolves winger Matt Jarvis has warned his team-mates against becoming Premier League ‘nearly men.’

Mick McCarthy’s battling side are winning more friends than points at the moment, after giving Sunderland a real fright on Sunday before going down 5-2 in a performance that flattered the Black Cats.

That display at the Stadium of Light was the latest impressive showing from Wolves, who could easily have got more than their tally of seven points from as many games.

But Jarvis insists Wolves can’t keep playing well without getting the points they need to stay up.

He said: “We’ve been playing well pretty much all season and competed well, but just need to make sure we pick up the points too.

“Our performances have been good and we’ve probably caught a few teams off guard. But we don’t want to keep coming off the pitch saying we’ve done really well but lost.

“We need to keep performing at the level we have been but also pick up results. That’s what we did in our last game against Fulham and what we need to aim for against Portsmouth as well.

“That was an afternoon which really helped our confidence and gave us a boost which we can take into the next home game.”

Wolves host Portsmouth on Saturday, with Pompey rooted to the bottom of the table after failing to pick up a point this season – ensuring the worst start in Premier League history.

But Jarvis believes they need to be wary of Paul Hart’s side because of their quality, despite their position.

The wide man said: “Portsmouth have got good players, despite the run they’re on. We have to concentrate on ourselves and make sure we’re ready to go again, because we know it will be tough.”

Jarvis admits it felt “horrible” coming off the pitch on Sunday with that sinking feeling again – especially after playing so well.

He said: “It was a horrible feeling for everyone involved in the game to come off having lost 5-2.

“It was very disappointing, especially considering we’d come back from 2-0 down to 2-2.

“We’d done extremely well and there was the feeling we could win the game after that.”