Wolves stalwart Robbie Dennison believes his old club can avoid the drama of Survival Sunday next season and target a mid-table finish.

The former winger, who commentates on every Wolves game for local radio, reckons if Mick McCarthy’s side can beat more of the teams around them, they can push beyond being survivors.

And Dennison, who scored 49 goals in 353 games in gold and black from 1987 to 1997, believes Wolves already have the capacity to shock the bigger sides.

He said: “You’re looking to pick up results against those teams around you, but for whatever reasons Wolves didn’t do that last season.

“If that could improve, and Wolves can continue to spring one or two surprises, then they can start to look more at trying to get into mid-table.”

Wolves stunned the Premier League by beating all of the eventual top three – Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City – at home, as well as Liverpool away.

Dennison believes those priceless victories proved Wolves felt more comfortable in their second successive season of top-flight football.

The former Northern Ireland international said: “I think you have to take the positives of those performances against the big boys and the fact it shows Wolves were more at home in the Premier League last season.

“They managed to raise their level and match the best teams which should give them plenty of confidence when they face them again.

“You want to progress every season and I’m sure Mick McCarthy will be strengthening again this summer, as he’s started to do already.”

As well as strengthening the team, Dennison believes the existing players will be better from another season among the big boys.

He said: “The players already there will come on again for having had another season in the top division.

“As a player, every season you have is good experience and a lot of the squad will be hoping to improve again next time.

“I think, in the first season, it takes a while to get settled in and there’s an element of being in awe of things a little bit.

“In the second season you’re far more accustomed to what the division is about, and having survived that, I’m sure the players will be looking to develop further for the third season.”

Wolves needed an 87th-minute goal from Stephen Hunt against Blackburn on the final day to stay up, before Roman Pavlyuchenko’s winner for Tottenham sent Birmingham down anyway.

But Dennison is convinced Wolves earned the right to stay up.

He said: “I think they deserved it, definitely. You look back at how it all finished and the fact it went right down to the last few minutes and it suggests we only scraped through it.

“But you finish where you deserve to be. When you think of some of the great performances and results against the big teams, it’s difficult to believe it went right to the end.

“They also did really well in the local derbies as well. For 80 per cent of the season, the performances were very good and certainly improved a level on the previous year.

“In the first season back up there, Wolves didn’t get results against the top teams but did well against teams around them in the table. Last year it was more about the games against the top teams.

“It was incredible really – normally you might hope to pick up the odd point or two against the top teams but to beat Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City was a great achievement.

“They’re always bonus points.”

By Tim Nash