Wolves blog: Concentration is key

The good news for Wolves is that at this early stage of the season a small run of wins will catapult them up the table.

They are only five points off the top six but also four points above the bottom three, showing how tight the league is, with top side Newcastle having already lost three games.

At this stage last season, Wolves were two places higher in the league but had one less point than they currently have.

Last season, a largely similar team to the one that had finished just outside the play-offs the previous season began the season disappointingly although they were having to manage the loss of two key players, Sako and Dicko.

This time, as we know, Wolves have been revamped on all levels and are still finding their feet.

When comparing Wolves' goal columns against other teams in the Championship, neither the goals scored nor goals conceded particularly stand out.

They are both fairly average, having scored the joint-tenth most and conceded the twelfth least.

What does stand out is the manner of conceding goals.

In 13 games so far, Wolves have left themselves with an uphill battle after conceding first in eight of them, as shown by the lowly five points recovered in these eight games.

The other statistic that stands out is the times of Wolves' conceding.

Of the 16 goals Wolves have conceded in the league, six have come in the first 15 minutes of matches. Five have come in the last 15 minutes of matches.

The remaining five goals have come either mid-half, between 16 and 30 minutes or 61 and 75 minutes.

Wolves have not conceded a goal between the 31st and 60th minute this season, which seems to indicate that they slowly get into games and are at their highest impact in the middle segments of the match.

Their goals scored column also indicates this. Wolves have not scored in the first 15 minutes of a match and have only scored once before the 30th minute.

Crucially, half of the 16 goals scored came between the 31st and 60th minute during which they haven't conceded.

Three came between the 61st and 75th minute and four came in the last fifteen minutes, although three of these did not directly impact the result.

These stats point to a lack of concentration or mental readiness in the late but particularly the early parts of matches, allowing the opposition the opportunity to gain a head-start before Wolves click into gear – something which has been taken advantage of eight times.

Wolves now face Leeds at home, Blackburn away and Derby at home before the next international break and will want to make the most of this run of games to gather some points.

They all join Wolves in the bottom half of the table and all offer a realistic chance of three points.

Wolves must make sure that the floodgates remain bolted especially in that crucial early period that has so often been the downfall.