In less than a year, Roy Hodgson has completed a crash-course in the Black Country derby.

Sunday’s trip to Molineux will be Hodgson’s fourth meeting with Wolves since slipping into the Albion hot-seat.

And on his three previous derby days, Hodgson has experienced the full gamut of emotions.

First there was the tension and relief of last February, when a last-gasp Carlos Vela equaliser earned the Baggies a crucial point in Hodgson’s first game in full charge of the side.

Then came the anger of last May, when a patched-up Albion side folded at Molineux in a 3-1 defeat.

And finally there was the joy of October, when Chris Brunt and Peter Odemwingie’s goals earned his side a 2-0 Hawthorns win and four months of Black Country bragging rights.

So Hodgson heads for ‘enemy’ territory on Sunday in no doubt about what is at stake, and under no illusions about the size of the challenge.

“I’m under no illusions about the importance of the game as far as our fans and their fans are concerned,” said Hodgson. “We’ll be doing everything we can this week to prepare for it and hopefully give a good account of ourselves.

“But we know it won’t be easy because they’re not an easy team to beat at home or away.

“They’re very competitive, they work very hard, they know what they’re doing and Mick McCarthy’s got them well-drilled.

“So it will really be a question of how well people play on the day and that’s always the case to some extent as a coach.

“It doesn’t matter how good your players are in terms of names on paper, it’s about what they actually produce on the field of play during the 90 minutes when it counts.”

That point was hammered home to Hodgson and Baggies fans at the end of last season, when an Albion side on a high from effectively securing their Premier League status failed to perform against a Wolves outfit still mired in the relegation dogfight.

They found themselves 3-0 behind shortly after half-time on a day that ranks as the lowest of Hodgson’s largely successful stint in charge.

But the Hawthorns head coach does not believe that experience will play on the minds of his players for Sunday’s return to Molineux.

“We didn’t play particularly well that day,” he said. “But what makes things low points are what make things high points – results.

“It’s always tough to get beaten in a derby match by one of your rivals.

“But I don’t have any worries about that.

“We did well against them at home luckily and got three points against them this season.

“We’ve now got to try to get some points from them away from home.”