Five talking points from Nottm Forest 0 Wolves 2

Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro scored the goals as Paul Lambert's team pulled five points clear of the relegation zone.

But who stood out for Wolves? And just how much of an improvement have they made under Lambert?

Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers picks out five talking points.

Much needed

Results elsewhere make this a moot point but Wolves went into the game knowing defeat could see them drop into the bottom three for Christmas.

And after the abysmal second half capitulation at Cardiff just four days earlier Lambert's team needed to show they had the stomach for the fight.

They also needed to give their long-suffering supporters something to cheer.

It was a much-needed and well celebrated victory that pulled Wolves five points clear of the relegation zone and offered a few reasons to be cheerful this Christmas.

It must be said that injury-hit Nottingham Forest were desperately poor opposition.

But so were Cardiff - and Wolves barely laid a glove on the Bluebirds.

You can only beat what's in front of you and Wolves did so convincingly in what was the team's most impressive performance for three months.

No one will be getting carried away after one victory but there was plenty there for Lambert to build on.

Bright future for formation?

The 4-2-3-1 formation has served Lambert well in the past and it was no surprise to see him utilise it in his opening two matches against Preston and Sheffield Wednesday, before he ditched it for 4-3-3.

It worked a treat at Deepdale with Wolves looking resilient at the back, although limited going forward.

The Wednesday game was a bit of a car crash but the likes of Dominic Iorfa and Kortney Hause were making mistakes, George Saville offered nothing in an offensive sense on the left wing, David Edwards was ineffective in the 10 role and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was laboured up front.

At the City Ground, Conor Coady was introduced at right back and produced a no-nonsense performance, Ivan Cavaleiro regularly caused Forest's defenders problems and, most importantly Bright Enobakhare was a menace playing behind Nouha Dicko.

The system looked balanced. Wolves had a shape to them - they defended in numbers but had plenty forward closing Forest's defenders down with high intensity and high pressure.

Enobakhare is certainly worth pursuing with in that role. He's a little selfish at times but he frightens defenders, he's willing to take chances and he's got pace and trickery in abundance.

With a bit of work him, Dicko, Cavaleiro and Helder Costa - all quick players who play on the front foot - working in tandem there is the potential for a thrilling strikeforce.

Price comparison

Also key to the system was Jack Price.

Lambert was full of praise for the academy graduate after that Preston game, but a couple of weeks later Price was dropped.

His return to the XI was a welcome one and Wolves looked far better off for his reassuring presence.

Wolves always look a better team with Price than without. He sniffs out danger and moves the ball succinctly and wisely.

He's not the tallest, or the strongest, but he's arguably the best player in Wolves' squad at reading a game.

Alongside him David Edwards was terrific, playing a box-to-box role with an emphasis on winning the ball back high up the field.

One such occurrence led to the second goal and capped off a fine display from the Welsh international.

With Danny Batth, Richard Stearman and Carl Ikeme all relatively trouble-free behind them, Wolves had solid foundations on which this victory was built.

Feliz Natal! (Merry Christmas!)

If the aforementioned group were the engine room, then Portuguese duo Costa and Cavaleiro provided the magic.

There's been plenty of scepticism on the merits of Wolves bringing in a plethora of foreign players with no experience of English football.

A lot of that is, of course, warranted (and it should be noted that just three of Wolves' 13 summer signings, including old boy Stearman, started this game). But in Costa and Cavaleiro, 'super agent' Jorge Mendes has done Wolves a turn.

The pair produced a couple of crackers to save Wolves from looking like relegation turkeys this Christmas.

Costa's footwork for the opening goal was simply sublime. Without him Wolves would surely be in the bottom three by now.

As for Cavaleiro, after a slow start he's now getting up to speed in the Championship. Initially he was deemed to be not hard-working enough by Walter Zenga, while Lambert seemed to take a similar viewpoint.

But a run of four successive starts has done him the world of good and the signs are there that he's about to make a big contribution to Wolves' hitherto dire season.

The defensive side of his game has improved tenfold but going forward the shackles have come off, he's enjoying his football and adds a rich array of skills, movement and technique to Wolves' front line.

We may be heading for midwinter but Wolves' record signing is beginning to hot up.

First of many for Ronan

Anyone who's watched the under-23 side over the past 18 months will know plenty about this youngster already.

But Wolves' many thousands of supporters may be able to become very familiar with Connor Ronan.

The 18-year-old has been a revelation for Wolves' youth teams (and Ireland's, for whom he was named under-17 player of the year) and Lambert has certainly taken a shine to him.

A midfielder blessed with natural technique and an eye for a pass, Ronan has captained the under-23s of late and only his lack of a physical presence held him back under Kenny Jackett last season.

Jackett took him on successive pre-season tours with the first team and now Lambert has seen enough to hand the teenager his professional debut.

It wasn't a token appearance either - there were still nine minutes left plus stoppages when Ronan replaced Helder Costa.

But if he was phased he didn't show it. Ronan didn't put a foot wrong.

It will surely be the first of many appearances in a gold shirt.