Connor believes Wolves can survive despite tripping over Bolton boulder

Wolves boss Terry Connor remained defiant after defeat to Bolton at Molineux on Saturday, stressing he was not about to give up hope of beating the drop.

After dominating the first half against the Trotters without managing to convert, the hosts deservedly broke the deadlock through the lively Michael Kightly, but they subsequently imploded.

Martin Petrov's penalty - contentiously awarded after Roger Johnson's challenge on Mark Davies - and further goals from Marcos Alonso and Kevin Davies saw them fall 3-1 behind, with Matt Jarvis' late response proving a mere consolation.

Disaster: Losing to Bolton put a major dent in Wolves' survival hopes


Rock-bottom Wolves are now six points adrift of safety in the Barclays Premier League and have taken only one point from a possible 18 under Connor, suffering five losses in a row.

The home matches they have among the seven they have left are against Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton, and Connor's predecessor Mick McCarthy had said in the build-up to this game that Wolves would have to win it to stand any chance of staying up.

Instead they lost, but Connor is adamant the battle must go on.

'People can say what they want to say - there are still 21 points to play for,' he said.


Asked how the team could turn things around, Connor said: 'By continuing to play like we did today.

'We dominated the game for an hour, scored, got in front. Then there is a penalty decision, which I've only seen once back.

'For me, it is a very dubious penalty decision. I didn't think the Bolton lads appealed with any great gusto. Our lads are adamant that it wasn't a penalty and that has a big bearing on the game.

'But in terms of the performance in the first half, the lads were terrific.

Hope: Terry Connor still believes Wolves can survive the drop

Hope: Terry Connor still believes Wolves can survive the drop

'Everyone called this a must-win game and I recognise the importance of it, but there are still seven more to play and I am not giving up any hope until someone tells me that we can't do it.'

Wolves' frustration at their current plight seemed evident when their captain Johnson and goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey squared up to each other in the first half after Bolton's Ivan Klasnic had been allowed to get a shot away.

Referring to the incident, Connor said: 'I don't know the exact nature of what they were talking about or what tactical point they were trying to resolve, but I do know it was two players showing passion and determination to get the right result for the club.

'I spoke to them at half-time. They shook hands and we went back out for the second half determined to play in exactly the same fashion as we had in the first half.'

Disagreement: Wayne Hennessey and Roger Johnson get feisty

Disagreement: Wayne Hennessey and Roger Johnson get feisty

The result - Bolton's third win on the bounce against fellow strugglers after their league triumphs over QPR and Blackburn - means the Trotters move up a place to 16th in the table, a point clear of the drop zone.

Their manager Owen Coyle - who insisted the penalty had been correctly given - said: 'It was a massive three points.

'We talk about six-pointers and these recent games we have had against QPR, Blackburn and Wolves have all been that, because this is the business end of the season.

'Teams around us have picked up points, but for our part, that is nine points from three games and we can't do any more than that.

'We just have to make sure we continue to do our business.'

Terry Connor still thinks Wolves can survive