Jarvis: We can wing it to top flight

Matt Jarvis believes the race for the Championship play offs is still wide open – especially for Wolves.

The visit of Ipswich Town tomorrow brings yet another promotion six-pointer on to the Molineux stage just days after the Black Country derby showdown.

And the prospect of a cameo from Michael Kightly raises the chances of the wide men yet pairing up to give Wolves the extra edge they need to cut a path into the top six.

Kightly's near 70-minute run-out in a training ground friendly this week nudged the England Under 21 star ever closer to a first team return.

He won't start against Ipswich but he is tipped for a run-out if the opportunity arises – and that would bring manager Mick McCarthy closer to realising his vision of a Wolves team which would have Kightly and Jarvis flying at defenders on opposite flanks.

Jarvis and Kightly have shared the stage already this season but that was when Wolves summer signing from Gillingham was feeling his way back from injury.

Kightly's problems followed and a frustrated McCarthy has had to negotiate the season without ever having the attacking thrust on the flanks he had originally imagined.

But there's still time to get a glimpse of that – especially if Wolves reach the play-offs – and Jarvis is as excited as anyone at the prospect.

"It would be great," he says. "And that's not to say Mickey Gray hasn't been in fantastic form and done a great job for us.

"But Kites and I are both similar players in that we like to take people on and cause teams problems and it would be great if we could finally have a bit of partnership. We both like to play an attacking game.

"The gaffer told me when I signed that he wanted to play 4-4-2 with two wingers which was great for me. That's how I want to play, and hopefully I'm contributing to that at the moment. "Might things have been different had we both been fit? It's hard to say. But there's time yet if Kites can get his match fitness.

"I love the atmosphere at Molineux when you can feel the fans urging you on. That's good for me. I can almost hear them shouting 'Go on, take him on, take him on' and that gives me a lot of encouragement to keep attacking the defenders even if it might not have worked beforehand.

"To have Kites doing that on the other side of the pitch . . . I don't know how teams are going to defend against it really." Jarvis has undoubtedly made significant strides since a troubled start to his Wolves career because of injury problems and the fans will be looking to him to carry the fight to Ipswich tomorrow.

It could not be more tense with the visitors just one point behind sixth-placed Crystal Palace, and two points clear of Wolves, although McCarthy's side still have a game in hand. But after missing out on the win that should have been their's at Bristol City, and losing to Albion, there is now no more room for error for the Molineux side.

And Jarvis, still buzzing with the excitement of his first Black Country derby, insists there are no long faces after the disappointment of that night.

He added: "That was the biggest game of my career so far and although the result was not what we wanted, the occasion was so enjoyable. The atmosphere was fantastic and I thought the game was really good, played at a high tempo and felt that we deserved something from it. The whole night was amazing, the build-up to the match . . . just going to the game with police everywhere! It was quite something. You get that adrenalin rush and you just want to get everything going.

"Albion are a great footballing side you can't deny that. They've got a strong squad and they passed the ball really well on Tuesday and created some good chances. But I felt we did well against them. We know what we have to do now. Ipswich are in the same boat as us and will come to win the game – that could work in our favour. We just have to keep playing how we have been."

Meanwhile, the visitors have been lifted by the recovery of central defender Alex Bruc, who is back in training and expected to be fit after limping off with a hamstring problem during the second half of Sunday's derby victory over Norwich City.