The Swain Easter Preview

It is the season of resurrection and, for the second time in a week, that spells trouble for Wolves.

There is nothing quite like the two-match Easter programme to jangle the nerves of the promotion-chasers and survival fighters, so this year's Championship selection is as loaded with tension as ever.

Nowhere will that be more apparent then at Molineux on Good Friday, when Wolves' quest for the Premier League runs headlong into confrontation with Southampton's desperate need to avoid a slide into League One.

Something has got to give and Wolves fans would feel a little more comfortable about the match, were it not for an unexpected display of resistance from Saints this week.

On Saturday, shattered by the news that the club's parent company had gone into administration, Southampton conspired to lose at home to the poorest - and surely least motivated - team in the division Charlton.

That result seemed to suggest that the demoralising impact of the club's financial troubles had taken its toll on the pitch. The Saints surely were on their way down.

But then came a stirring recovery at Watford on Tuesday night, after which their manager Mark Wotte made it clear his team were very much "alive and kicking" and ready for more of the same at Molineux.

Wolves, already stung by the galvanising effect Birmingham enjoyed after being reduced to 10 men on Monday, must hope they fare better quelling the opposition's spirit of resistance in the face of adversity.

Wotte warns them: "We lost to Charlton on Saturday because of the club going into administration. We should have won. But footballers are also human beings.

"I thought I could keep the players' minds off it. But we had a very honest meeting on Sunday, when I realised some of the players have been at the club since they were seven or eight years old and are really badly affected.

"Their families are all fans, so subconsciously it affects you. But against Watford they showed they can deal with it and stay focused. No one doubts that we can stay up.

"We need 51, 52 points – and that is 'doable'. That is my job, that is all I can do – and let's hope that the administrator can do his job."

After that comes Monday's assignment at Derby, where a season we might otherwise expect to be meandering to a soulless conclusion is being re-energized by the presence of Clough Jnr in the dugout and a guaranteed bumper Bank Holiday crowd.

That will be no easy matter for Wolves either, leaving supporters with the distinctly uneasy notion that Blues have a greater potential for points from their Easter schedule of a visit to Charlton, before welcoming Plymouth to their parks pitch.

It won't be easy on the eye, but it does look like six points for the division's most obdurate contenders.

WOLVES: -

Good Friday - Southampton (h). No matter what it takes, no matter how it goes, Wolves simply MUST make this a win.

Even allowing for Southampton's capacity to play neat, probing football and their recent elevation to 'bogey' team in the minds of Molineux fans, I'm backing them to do just that. But losing Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to injury is a blow.

Verdict: Wolves win.

Easter Monday - Derby (a). Derby still need to make sure of their survival, although it is going to be hard job for young Master Clough to convince his players they are still in any great peril.

But the formidable Derby fanbase will ramp up the atmosphere for this one and Wolves cannot afford any more howlers from the backline.

Verdict: Draw.

Points total after Easter: 81.

BIRMINGHAM: -

Saturday - Charlton (a). Charlton are a dead team walking but clearly capable of holding together sufficient professional pride to pull off the off shock result – that victory at Southampton, not to mention a recent point at Reading, spring to mind. But surely Blues won't mess this one up.

Verdict: Blues win.

Easter Monday - Plymouth (h). Now this is the sort of fixture Blues have struggled with all season – as their recent stumble against Norwich confirms.

Alex McLeish's men are less comfortable when they have to make the play and Plymouth, one win short of a survival total, will make it horrible for them.

Verdict: Blues win – just.

Points total after Easter: 81

SHEFFIELD UNITED: -

Good Friday - Reading (a). If the season-long top three had got into a comfort zone in the dispute of the automatic promotion places, it is Sheffield United who have shattered it.

Are they this year's Albion of 2002? This game kicks-off after the Wolves and Blues results are in – and that could have a bearing on the psychology of either team.

Verdict: A draw.

Easter Monday - Nottingham Forest (h). This is the same balance as at Molineux against Southampton – promotion urgency meeting survival desperation.

Forest are proving a tougher nut to crack but at Bramall Lane, the Blades are an almighty handful.

Verdict: Sheffield United win.

Points after Easter: 76.

READING: -

Good Friday - Sheffield United (h). Despite their long domination at the top, supporters at both Wolves and Blues have had their grumbles this season.

But the greater surprise is Reading's continuing failure to punch their weight, even with the return of Glen Little and Dave Kitson.

A draw would suit the top two and that's what I think they will get.

Verdict: Draw.

Monday - Blackpool (a). A horrible, testing fixture for Steve Coppell's men. A delapidated stadium, dusty pitch, unfancied opposition who are perfectly capable of beating the best in this division and an expectation of victory among Reading fans. I think Reading will lose more ground.

Verdict: A draw.

Points total after Easter: 71.