Express & Star

Paul Lambert setting his sights high at Wolves

It's a bit of an understatement to label this as a 'funny old season' at Molineux.

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Three managers, two record signings, 15 new players, new billionaire owners, an FA Cup run and a relegation battle... it's been anything but boring.

You'd wager, though, that after the stress of the past couple of months most of those associated with the club will settle for a nice, calm month to polish off the season, preferably with a few more victories.

Seven games remain and Wolves are all-but safe, meaning tomorrow's game at Bristol City isn't half as important as it looked just a few weeks ago.

But as to what to expect from Wolves over these remaining fixtures... that's still anybody's guess. After all, Wolves lost five in a row, then drew at Ipswich, and have won the last five.

It's left everyone wondering 'what might have been', had they not endured such a disastrous February. Ten points from the five games they lost and they'd now be just five off the play-offs with a game in hand.

Paul Lambert is clear that Wolves' major downfall in that regard has been the lack of a prolific striker, with Nouha Dicko and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scoring just two apiece all season. "If we had a striker that's scored 15 goals we'd be right in there," Lambert said.

"And that's no fault of Nouha, or Jon Bodvarsson or any striker at this club.

"It's a big ask for Nouha to come back from that massive injury.

"Jon's new to the league and might be a second-season player.

"With the cruciate knee ligament injury you never know how they're going to come back from it.

"The lad has trained a bit, then the season's started and he's in.

"As a footballer you need to have a base of endurance and a pre-season, and come through that pre-season without missing days. You've got to sustain it."

Lambert is adamant that there could be good times just around the corner at Molineux – if things are right off the field.

He is already eyeing up a crucial summer in the transfer market with the intention of bringing in a number of key signings to complement what he believes is a strong, if bloated, squad.

And for this season, after reaching the hallowed 50-point mark he's keen to push on and finish as high up the table as possible.

"I'm not here just to get to 50 points," he added.

"I think it's a club with incredible potential.

"If it's done right and we get the right personnel to help them, and everything off the field is right – because the support's here – it could really take off.

"Hopefully we get given the time to do it.

"It gives us a good base to look forward to next season.

"If we can help the group with lads coming in to give them a hand we'll be stronger, because that's what you need with the amount of games we play, especially if you get a cup run which takes its toll, it's difficult to keep sustaining that on Saturday-Tuesday.

"And some of the lads haven't done Saturday-Tuesday, they don't know the league and it's a culture shock to them.

"There are so many good things here. If we get the help, this could be great."

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