Dean Saunders upbeat despite Wolves' position

Wolves are still to win under new boss Saunders, whose four games in charge have yielded just two points, after yesterday's loss made it eight matches without a victory.

Their 15th defeat of the season last night saw them fall to 19th in the Championship, five points above the drop zone with 16 matches left, but with all their rivals having at least one game in hand.

Yet they produced their most convincing performance under Saunders last night. And he is confident his team will ease any relegation fears if they continue to play like that.

He said: "We have got to stay in the league. We have got the squad to do that and if we play like that, we'll be fine – we'll beat most teams. It was probably the best performance since I have been here."

Wolves don't play now until the visit of Leeds a week tomorrow and Saunders admitted he still needs to get the players to become a cohesive unit and string a run of victories together.

He said: "I've got to get them to gel and we need to get two or three wins on the trot. There are a lot of things I've got to put right.

"I've got to get them to believe what I'm saying to them and that will be helped once they get positive results. Some of the football we played was very good."

Wolves have taken just two points out of 12 under Saunders but the Welshman is convinced the team is moving in the right direction.

He said: "We played really well. I wasn't pleased we lost, but things are really improving. We have got a good squad of players who have showed confidence and belief to come back from a goal down."

But he was disappointed at the awful defending for both goals, which saw Anthony Knockaert and David Nugent run from deep positions before scoring.

He said: "We just backed off and that's the sort of thing that happens when you are not confident. When you are confident, you meet the winger on the touchline and stop him there."