Emiliano Martinez: Top two target for Wolves

Wolves went down 2-1 at Bolton for their third defeat from six matches. It leaves them 16th in the early standings, already nine points behind leaders Brighton – who visit Molineux this Saturday.

An indifferent start has fans questioning the team's promotion credentials, but Spaniard Martinez insists Wolves are still among the favourites to reach the Premier League.

He said: "I feel we're not far away, we're contenders, We've lost two or three games, which isn't good, but the season is long and if we go on a good run we can look at automatic promotion."

The 23-year-old goalkeeper was perhaps a surprise choice in goal at the Macron Stadium, after Ikeme starred for Nigeria during the international break.

But he took his chance with an excellent performance, producing some outstanding saves to keep Wolves in the game.

He said: "Obviously, you always want to keep a clean sheet. I hope I can get one next week.

"I think I had two saves early on in the game which gave me confidence, obviously I kept the team in the game with the last two saves, but it wasn't enough to get anything.

"We're not far away. We've had two wins and we hoped for a third in a row. But we didn't start well, we were a bit shaky, but hopefully next week we start on the front foot.

"Hopefully, I'll stay in the team. Every time you play for this club you need to do your best. Obviously, there's really good competition with Carl who's a very good goalkeeper as well."

Martinez admitted he had never played behind such a young backline, with 22-year-old Ethan Ebanks-Landell and 20-year-old Kortney Hause in front of him at the Macron.

But he added: "I've never played with such a young defence to be honest, but all the lads know their job really well.

"They're young but have experience and I'm really confident to play behind that back four."