Express & Star

Matt Murray: Table looks good but Wolves must stay focused

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Liam McAlinden, the boy from Cannock who joined Wolves aged eight, will never forget his first league goal for the club. Nor will history because it was the day Wolves took nearly 9,000 fans to an away game in the third tier of English football.

The Wolves players were blown away by it, with centre-back Danny Batth telling me of the "awesome atmosphere" and how the gold and black hoards behind the goal went crazy when McAlinden headed the winner, taking what was already some party to another level. A couple of the players likened it to a smaller scale cup final or play-off final occasion, with fans taking over half the ground.

The MK Dons game was yet another clean sheet, with the back four once again outstanding as a unit and Carl Ikeme making a brilliant save from a free-kick.

Significantly immediately after Batth had acknowledged the awesome crowd in a post-match chat with me, he switched to the next challenge, saying that tonight's trip to Stevenage would be tough.

That sort of focus is great to see. Relish the support and the win, but then move on because there is still a job to be done. That mindset comes from Kenny Jackett and Joe Gallen. The Crawley defeat was a sharp reminder that banana skins lie in wait, especially on small, bumpy pitches on midweek evenings and Stevenage are fighting for their lives at the foot of the table. Find a way to win, any way. It doesn't always have to be pretty.

Wolves supporters are already counting down the points needed for automatic promotion. They can dare to dream; the players can't. Of course they would not be human if they didn't look at the table and see Wolves clear at the top. But you only have to turn the clock back to the 2002 Championship.

Wolves in mid-March were 11 points clear of Albion, only to be overhauled at the death and lose out to the Baggies for the second automatic promotion spot. Sorry to have brought that one up from the horror archives but it is a clear warning to guard against complacency. Jackett's great achievement this season is not just taking us to the top of the league with an entertaining brand of football, but planting the seeds of a very good Championship side.

He has a great football brain and knows how to improve a club and evolve every aspect of it, without forgetting the importance of the here and now. He is both a pragmatist and a visionary; a rare combination we are lucky to have at the helm.

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