Wolves fans digging deep for fixtures jam

But their famous patience – and the thickness of their wallets – will be tested to the very limit in the coming weeks.

Nine games, 27 days, hundreds of pounds and more than 1,000 miles on the road – that's the prospect fans are facing as a freak backlog of fixtures looms large in March.

The congested list includes no fewer than six away games – three on them on Tuesday nights.

It will mean days off work, early morning starts, late nights and plenty of football widows and widowers left at home lamenting their loved one's penchant for all things gold and black.

However, with manager Kenny Jackett labelling the run as a 'crucial period' in the club's promotion run-in, fanatical supporters won't want to miss a kick.

Chris Hughes has followed the club all of his life and in the past eight years has travelled home and away to every game.

He said for some fans money just wasn't an issue when it came to following their heroes.

"It's just what we do, there's no other way about it," the 28-year-old from Rowley Regis said.

"There are about 300 of us who go to every single game and it's almost like a family – you see the same people week in, week out. When you go all the way to Carlisle on a Tuesday night you know they're the same as you.

"I don't see the nine games in 27 days as a huge problem although the re-arranged fixtures can be a pain because people can't get time off work and the Tuesdays mean late nights."

Games stacked up after the weather forced matches to be postponed. This was the scene at Stevenage.

The run begins on March 8 with a relatively sedentary excursion to Walsall. The keenly contested local derby is just eight miles away and coach tickets are £9 – although add the £21.50 cost of a match ticket on top of that and the day suddenly becomes quite expensive.

Just three days later comes an 88-mile trip to Swindon, for which ticket and travel prices amount to £41, before Jackett's men host Shrewsbury on March 15 for another derby clash.

Then on March 18 comes the long journey to Crawley – a 340-mile round trip to be precise – for another Tuesday night away day.

The following Saturday it's another away day, this time at Sheffield United, before a Tuesday visit of Colchester United to Molineux.

Fans will travel in their thousands to Milton Keynes on March 29 for an eagerly awaited away day – although their bid to get 10,000 tickets for the match via an online campaign is likely to fail.

To finish the daunting fixture jam comes another long trip to Stevenage on April Fool's Day before Peterborough visit Molineux on April 5.

Season ticket holders will have their tickets for the home fixtures already purchased, but for tickets and coach travel alone the bill comes to just shy of £230 for the six away games.

Add in food, drink, travel and a matchday programme for all nine games and fans are likely to have to shell out an eye-watering £400 at least – the price of a full season ticket at Molineux. But, as Mr Hughes said, some things are more important than money.

"During the Premier League seasons I felt like I didn't identify with the club in the same way I used to," he added.

"This season has been enjoyable and I'm seeing grounds either for the first time or for the first time in a long time. The team feels like it's ours again now."

The game at Crawley was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch

Fellow diehard Russ Cockburn said he'd be attending all nine games – and with alcohol and hotels added into the mix it would cost him as much as £900.

But the 34-year-old said that in comparison to the past two seasons, money and travel wasn't as much of a factor when the team were winning every week.

"With Wolves doing well you'll find fans are more willing to go," the Sedgley resident said.

"You don't start looking at the money or the distances.

"If you're 15th in the league and it's £50 for Swindon away on a Tuesday night, you might think about leaving it. But when you're near the top, it's no problem to spend £50 – and you'll have a few pints as well!"

Family man Mr Cockburn said he was lucky to have an understanding wife when it came to such matters.

"My wife's very accommodating when it comes to the football," he added. "In fact she's got the fixtures in her diary better than I have.

"I'm lucky that she's very understanding. The £900 is a lot of money but I've done it since I was a little kid. It's not just the games, it's the entire day. We just love it." The games are sure to be important come the final reckoning.

However, Wolves have managed to avoid their promotion rivals.

In fact, the March fixture list has been kind to Jackett's side – three of the four teams currently marooned in the relegation zone will line up against Wolves.

They are Sheffield United, Shrewsbury and Stevenage, while Crawley in 18th is also a fixture where Wolves will be expected to pick up all three points.

Colchester and MK Dons are stuck in mid-table, although trips to play-off-chasing Walsall and Swindon – before a big home game against sixth-placed Peterborough – will prove tough obstacles.

With just five games remaining in the whole season after the 27-day congestion is over, Jackett will hope his players are up to the challenge.

And so too will the long-suffering supporters.