Wolves captain in rallying call

Captain Karl Henry admits the time has come for Wolves to put points above performances – starting at Birmingham.

The all-action midfielder admits there has been plenty of soul searching after Tuesday's FA Cup exit to Crystal Palace.

Described by boss Mick McCarthy as "the worst performance in my three and a half years", Wolves hit the road again tomorrow at St Andrew's determined it won't – and can't – affect their chances of Premier League survival.

And with criticism ringing in their ears surrounding the lack of any permanent signings in the transfer window, Henry is confident the players who got Wolves promoted can keep them up.

"As players, we have faith in ourselves because the majority of us got the club promoted and we know we're good players," he said.

"We got us here and we went into the weekend out of the relegation zone and there's no reason why we can't continue that and keep us out with the points required.

"That's all it's about now – it's got to the stage where it's not about performances, it's about whether we won, drew or lost and avoiding relegation at all costs.

"We need big performances from everyone.

"It's a huge game tomorrow – we're aware how big it is and hopefully we'll be doing the talking afterwards."

Fans have also criticised Wolves' 4-5-1 formation, but Henry believes it offers plenty of attacking possibilities.

"It shouldn't be regarded as a negative thing at all," he said.

"Maybe with Geoffrey Mujangi Bia making his first start on Tuesday, he and Kevin Foley weren't as far forward as they would have liked.

"But we certainly end up having a three 'up top' than a two.

"We have to support Kevin Doyle as quickly as possible to create chances.

"In terms of getting forward, the likes of myself need to try to get on the ball because if we're outnumbering them in the middle, we need to make that extra man count."

Draws against Liverpool and Hull before the Palace debacle after three defeats without scoring offered promise of another good run and Henry is convinced it's possible.

"I feel we can. We've shown we can do it already – we've got to bounce back and have that resilience because you'll always lose games in this league," he said.

"We've got to be mentally tough – which I think we have been – because we'll still get setbacks from now to the end of the season.

"Dwell too much on your last performance and you'll go into your next game in a poor frame of mind."

But Tuesday's game required a post mortem, and Henry believes individuals have to take responsibility.

"We've all had a chat and watched the game on video and hopefully put our finger on what we did wrong and we're raring to go," he said.

"The goals we conceded were schoolboy errors – the kind you'd see watching a Sunday League team.

"If we'd defended like that to a Sunday League team, I'm sure we'd have been 3-0 down.

"It's all very well and good saying what the team has to do, but we've got a good team spirit and confidence is fine, but we have to look at ourselves as individuals.

"If you make individual errors, you will lose games.

"Looking at the Hull game, giving away the penalty was sloppy and the first goal was sloppy too.

"If we hadn't given away the penalty, I think we'd have won that game.

"Providing we cut out those errors, we'll be fine.

"We knew Tuesday's performance wasn't good enough but watching it again refreshed it in our minds."

With the third best defensive record in the Premier League going into the weekend, Blues have had no such problems.

Their two centre backs, Scott Dann and Roger Johnson were McCarthy targets in the summer only to prove too expensive.

And Henry admits they need to take a leaf out of Blues' book.

"Defending is something Birmingham have been particularly good at, so we've got to break them down," he said.

The game was marked by Henry's first goal in his 300^th career game - ironically just a few miles from his last one, a dramatic late winner at Charlton almost two years ago.

Goalscoring isn't high on his list of priorities, but Henry says everyone must chip in.

"It's the first time I've scored and been so seething I didn't even feel like I'd scored," he said.

"Hopefully that will spur me to get more and maybe score a winner.

"If I can score a couple of winners between now to the end of the season, that would be great because they could be vital.

"Scoring goals isn't why I'm in the team but chances are few and far between in this league and we've all got to chip in."

With three goals in four games against Wolves, Blues striker Cameron Jerome has been a thorn in their side.

Henry admits they will have to keep a close eye on the burly hitman.

"He's a good, strong player with pace and we'll have to nip that in the bud 'early doors', so we'll have to keep him quiet if we want to get something from the game," he said.