Bully Bites Back with Steve Bull

Wolves legend Steve Bull gives it to you straight in his weekly column and warns the team must cut out the schoolboy mistakes to survive in the Premier League.

The Chelsea game came and went with plenty of credit for our display but unfortunately no points. While there are positives to be taken from that, it's not a combination we can keep up because we need the points to stay in this league.

We are arguably playing better as a team now than at any stage of the season and we certainly don't look like a side that's going to go down, but it's the league table that decides that in the end. I think fans would agree that we'd be happy with the three points now, it doesn't matter how we play.

Still, I must admit it's great to see our boss Mick McCarthy getting the side taking the game to the big teams. I thought we might be guilty of holding Chelsea in too high regard and letting them walk all over us, but we didn't do that. Basically it came down to the fact they have got something we haven't in Didier Drogba.

You can't be surprised to see him on the scoresheet again because he's a world-class striker in incredible form, but it was still slack defending that allowed him in on both occasions.

Individual errors keep costing Wolves points and, even though I think Christophe Berra and Jody Craddock have generally been a good partnership, the mistake for the second goal was a carbon copy of one against Palace.

We've got to put a stop to these errors because they're not one-offs. The right-back should have stopped the cross coming in for the first goal and, for the second, Berra should put it in the stands.

At the other end you've got to score your chances. We had two clear cut one-on-ones and Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech made two great saves to help them win the game. These errors have been happening all season and we've got to stamp it out or we'll be out of the league before we know it.

It's a physical and psychological battle at both ends of the table now, with all the teams up to West Ham still in the scrap. It's certainly making it interesting but I just wish the season could finish now with the league table as it is!

Wolves have got nothing to fear from their next game at Bolton though. The Trotters aren't in the best of form - they don't seem to be clicking at all with the new manager. Usually when a new boss comes in, teams start off strong but they haven't done that.

I don't think I ever played against Owen Coyle, so I don't know him well, but he seems to have done well at Burnley and must have seen a better opportunity at Bolton. A lot of people were surprised he made that switch but it's only around the corner from Burnley, so he didn't have to move house, and it's a new challenge for him.

He needs to sink his teeth into it and he's been in the game long enough to take every match as it comes.

I may not have come across their new manager too often but I've had quite a few battles with Bolton. They've always been a tough team to deal with - a real thorn in our side - especially in the play-offs. In 1995 we played them in the play-off semi-final and I scored in a 2-1 win at Molineux, only for them to beat us 2-0 at their place and eventually get promoted.

All too often we've come off worse for wear from those big battles and the fans won't have forgotten that. They'll be desperate to get a little revenge for the losses in the lower leagues and come back on Saturday night knowing we got the points when it counted – in the Premier League!

To do that we need to play like we did against Chelsea, get a little more luck in front of goal and earn the three points we deserve and desperately need. Bolton are down there for a reason and that's because they don't have the same quality as the likes of the big guns.

They sre less likely to punish any mistakes we make, but we haven't got the personnel that the top four can boast either, so we need to be prepared for a fight.

One player who has excelled in that respect of late is Adiene Guedioura and the Belgian lad looks a really promising player to me. He's 6ft plus and in the Patrick Vieira mould, although I wouldn't go as far as to say he's the same calibre, but he's a bit like him in the way he struts around the pitch.

He's a real battler, has got two good feet and where a lot of players need time to adjust to English football, he's managed to settle in sooner rather than later.

I've talked about Kevin Doyle a lot too and it seems other teams are starting to sit up and take notice of his fine performances for Wolves. Can we keep hold it him? I think it all depends on whether we're in the Premier League next year because he is without doubt a top flight striker.

If we are still in the Premier League next year, Doyle will still be wearing the shirt, don't worry about that. I genuinely believe he loves the club as well as working for Mick McCarthy. He even showed loyalty to Reading when they went down, but he's a top player and if he wants Premier League football, I wouldn't hold him back should we suffer the same fate.

On a final note, I was glad to see Chris Iwelumo scoring for Bristol City this week. You're always better off playing regular football than coming off the bench for five minutes here or there.

Strikers in particular need the chance to play, so they can get in tune with the ball and start hitting the back of the net.

When you manage that, there's no better feeling – trust me!

BULLY'S TIP OF THE WEEK: -

Well, I did alright in the Wolves Accumulator last week – getting two out of the three bets right. Despite this, a lot of you still beat me, so the pressure's on this week.

To play the Wolves Accumulator and see my predictions for the Bolton game, go to www.sportingbet.com/wolves.