Stick at it and the breaks will come.

Through some long, tough hours of Premier League combat, manager Mick McCarthy has not been able to offer much beyond that mantra to his Wolves players.

What a day, then, for the words to finally come true.

Did Wolves deserve to beat Burnley? Debateable. Did they earn the victory? Unquestionably.

This was a win which had at its heart every ounce of effort McCarthy’s players have poured into this campaign in all those other contests up and down the division which have not ended quite so happily.

But their persistence has paid off. On Saturday, in this hugely-important survival clash, Wolves won because they possibly did less wrong than Burnley but also because they finally got a smile out of Lady Luck.

Actually, it might have been more than a smile. What with a flukey own goal, a missed penalty and two opposition efforts hitting the woodwork, they took her out to dinner and home for a nightcap.

But it was a welcome shift of fortune to reward a group of players who may have their Premier League shortcomings but whose character and willingness cannot be questioned.

Such were the pressures building up to this meeting of 18th v 17th that you almost expected victory to bring a shift in the relegation picture of cataclysmic proportions. In fact, the three point-gap plus a bit of favourable goal difference with which Wolves returned home proved that there is so much more still to be done in the quest for survival.

But if ever a game reminded McCarthy’s players of the virtues of sticking to their task this was it, the first of three away games on the spin. If Wolves had drawn all three of the Burnley-Villa-West Ham triplet they would have been delighted; the fact that they already have that points tally from the first of them underlines the ground gained at Turf Moor.

In contrast and quite understandably, Burnley felt cruelly treated by the run of events which has deepened their jeopardy beneath Wolves. However, with their team’s mentor Owen Coyle long gone as well as that adrenalin-fuelled early home form, they look like an accident waiting to happen; Wolves repeatedly conducted the game’s essential disciplines with more certainty amid the inevitable nerves and tensions running through such a vital contest.

Which brings us to the trigger-point of the game after 26 minutes of sparring when first David Jones and then Kevin Doyle helped Wolves move possession over the top of Burnley’s last line of defence, full back Tyrone Mears.

It was routine, percentage football which Mears should have tidied up. Doubtless he would have done had he not been conscious of the galloping Matt Jarvis behind him. But the Wolves winger, who could just as easily have given up the chase knowing in all probability he would only have a 60yd sprint back to his defensive posting for his trouble, hunted down the lost cause in a moment which perfectly captured his manager’s code of conduct.

And Mears cracked. His header back to Brian Jensen was short, not by much but just enough to send Jarvis scurrying on, touching the ball around the stranded goalkeeper and almost shepherding it over a naked goal-line. It would be a moment to sum up the game for both teams.

Burnley’s loss of the ex-Walsall left back Danny Fox before the break with a suspected cracked rib was painful for the player but another helpful break for Wolves. Fox is one of the most potent set piece specialists around and when Burnley were later forcing free-kicks and corners in their valiant attempts to retrieve the game, it was a huge relief to Wolves this player they nearly bought instead of George Elokobi was not around to take them.

With defending McCarthy rightly characterised as “stout” and “resolute”, Wolves shipped only one opening before the break but it ended kindly for them when David Nugent shot so firmly into the ground the ball had the legs to bounce up and land on top of the bar.

And then came a second twist of the knife for the home side although it would be nice to think that again Jarvis was rewarded for virtues other than hard work in the build-up. When he cut inside from a Stephen Ward pass, Mears stuck out a leg which the Wolves winger could have fallen over in an effort to trick referee Steve Bennett into a penalty.

But he stayed on his feet and the ball was worked along the face Burnley’s defence until Adlene Guedioura tried his luck with a shot which would have gone wide had it not struck the heel of a helpless Clark Carlisle to provide a perfect deflection beyond Jensen.

By now you should be getting the picture. Before Wolves got to the finishing line, Burnley substitute Robbie Blake would hit both the woodwork and, with an intended pass inside the area, Christophe Berra’s out-stretched arm – but still the breaks came Wolves way.

But the manner in which they saw out the last 20 minutes after Steven Thompson’s 73rd minute close range header had lifted Burnley was both gutsy and effective. Nuts and bolts defending from the centre backs Berra and the ever-admirable Jody Craddock came to the fore but McCarthy was just as likely to be pleased with Ronald Zubar’s contribution – quick, strong and athletic at right back.

The manager also helped by cleverly bringing on Sylvan Ebanks Blake to help Doyle, enabling Wolves to retain possession more easily. If there is a part of the game which reminds us of their collective inexperience it is the lack of composure on the ball when the opposition are rushing at them, forcing the pace; Wolves got sucked into Burnley’s desperate tempo over the final third and kept giving back their opponents easy possession.

But they saw the job through without, it must be said, too many more alarms other than Blake’s rising shot from close-range parried by Hahnemann before being scrambled clear by an all-hands-on-deck defence.

So, yes, maybe Wolves did deserve it on reflection. They have certainly earned their luck and will doubtless hear their gaffer this week reminding them how to earn some more.

Stick at it and the breaks will come.

By Martin Swain.