Players make their case as Wolves boss gives them a screen test

The Wolves boss isn't misled by the three successive league wins and goes into tomorrow's home clash with Dave Jones' Sheffield Wednesday convinced that his side remain a work in progress.

After spending much of his first two months viewing DVDs of the relegation season, he has continued his watching brief.

Solbakken stages regular analysis sessions with the players as he and first-team coach Johan Lange examine games in minute detail.

"Videos, DVDs, we stop the play when we're playing 11 v 11 at exactly the right moment so the players can see if there is another option available to them," said Solbakken.

"We're showing them DVDs of themselves and as a complete team in games, in training and in tactical meetings.

"We had one or two players in on Thursday before the Peterborough match to show them certain situations from the Ipswich game.

"I asked them 'why do you do that?' and 'why don't you do the other thing?'.

"It's important for me to hear their explanations and to know why they're doing it because I need reasons.

"Our offensive players can get better in terms of when to go quick and when to slow down, and when to play a direct ball and when to use the central midfielders.

"I still don't think we're playing enough angled balls – we're still playing too many balls where we're playing for the second ball – but we're learning that there other opportunities and alternatives.

"We're trying to present that to the players, not only by telling them but by actually showing them pictures so they can see it for themselves.

"It's one thing to look at DVDs and see the players in action, but another is to look at them in games to see which players do what in certain situations against different kinds of opposition and different kinds of matches."

Solbakken believes the DVD option is vital to show players exactly what they should be doing on the pitch.

"It's important if you have 18-20 players that they know their jobs," he said. "It makes it easier for when you rotate them.

"For example, if we play Stephen Hunt, he'll play the wide left role differently to Bakary Sako, but defensively, they more or less have to do the same thing.

"If Stephen Ward plays behind one of those, he should know eight out of 10 times how either player is going to do their job.

"For the other two times, 'Wardy' has to solve the problem on his own."

Solbakken added: "I'm learning more every day. To go in the right direction, so they feel they can improve as a team and also as an individual, they must realise there's more than one alternative.

"That's something where we have a bit of work to do, but we're going in the right way."

Solbakken said the players are receptive to his ideas – and trust him.

"What I like is the players' willingness to learn," he said. "I think we've gone past the point where I have to convince them that this is a smart thing to do – we're finished with that.

"Now it's a case of putting it into practice and making it better and better."