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If Dougie Freedman thought his side had finally cracked it with the midweek win over Rotherham United, he was sadly mistaken.
Joe Mason’s clinical hat-trick at the Macron Stadium looked a very distant memory as Wanderers suffered once again for a lack of class in front of goal.
While Owen Garvan’s penalty was the most obvious case – there were three other major opportunities for Craig Davies, Jermaine Beckford and Liam Feeney that could, perhaps should, have given Freedman some valuable breathing room.
You may argue that there is little a manager can do when his team has missed a penalty and a string of good chances – but try telling that to the mounting number of fans now completely resigned to change.
With silence deafening elsewhere in the club, the manager is out on his own trying to explain just why this season has been such a disappointment.
He remains convinced he is the man to fix the club’s problems, although clearly he will need more help from his players.
Defensively, Wanderers got it right with the notable exception of one poorly defended throw on the Wolves’ right, which led to Nouha Dicko’s winner on 42 minutes.
In an attacking sense it was the lack of conviction in the first half, coupled with the lack of ruthlessness in the second that cost them at least a share of the points.
“They are not letting me down, they are letting their team-mates down,” Freedman said of his side’s attacking problems.
“You can spend big money on players and they’ll take their chances, I watched Nottingham Forest the other night and the reason they are at the top is that they have a goalscorer who takes his chances.
“They are creating them but at the moment we’re just hoping someone comes upon a purple patch like Joe Mason did on Tuesday night.”
Freedman will find very few people to agree with him on the terraces right now but the Scot remains convinced that his approach will eventually yield results.
“The way football goes, the way we performed away from home against Leeds and Wolves, it will turn,” he said.
“I’m comfortable saying that if we carry on playing like that, keep creating opportunities, then we will put wins on the board.
“We had Wolves pegged back for the last 15-20 minutes and there is nothing wrong with our fitness.
“We just didn’t quite have the belief to put the ball in the net.
“They were fourth in the table and we were fourth bottom but there was nothing in the game.
“The lads are not hiding in their responsibility. They came here and played well, created opportunities, but we’ve got to make sure for 95 minutes that we concentrate.
“We are putting too much pressure on ourselves to get that goal.”
After one win in eight attempts in the Championship, you might be forgiven for thinking a visit to the Premier League leaders is not something to be particularly relished.
But Freedman is relishing the idea of taking on Jose Mourinho in an arena far less pressured than the one he will find at the Macron at the weekend when his team host Derby County.
“It’s certainly a nice distraction,” he said. “If you can’t look forward to Chelsea as a professional then you shouldn’t be one.
“I won’t need to motivate the lads for that game. We will be up for it.
“We’ve got Derby at home after that and I don’t fear any of these teams.”
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Joe Mason’s clinical hat-trick at the Macron Stadium looked a very distant memory as Wanderers suffered once again for a lack of class in front of goal.
While Owen Garvan’s penalty was the most obvious case – there were three other major opportunities for Craig Davies, Jermaine Beckford and Liam Feeney that could, perhaps should, have given Freedman some valuable breathing room.
You may argue that there is little a manager can do when his team has missed a penalty and a string of good chances – but try telling that to the mounting number of fans now completely resigned to change.
With silence deafening elsewhere in the club, the manager is out on his own trying to explain just why this season has been such a disappointment.
He remains convinced he is the man to fix the club’s problems, although clearly he will need more help from his players.
Defensively, Wanderers got it right with the notable exception of one poorly defended throw on the Wolves’ right, which led to Nouha Dicko’s winner on 42 minutes.
In an attacking sense it was the lack of conviction in the first half, coupled with the lack of ruthlessness in the second that cost them at least a share of the points.
“They are not letting me down, they are letting their team-mates down,” Freedman said of his side’s attacking problems.
“You can spend big money on players and they’ll take their chances, I watched Nottingham Forest the other night and the reason they are at the top is that they have a goalscorer who takes his chances.
“They are creating them but at the moment we’re just hoping someone comes upon a purple patch like Joe Mason did on Tuesday night.”
Freedman will find very few people to agree with him on the terraces right now but the Scot remains convinced that his approach will eventually yield results.
“The way football goes, the way we performed away from home against Leeds and Wolves, it will turn,” he said.
“I’m comfortable saying that if we carry on playing like that, keep creating opportunities, then we will put wins on the board.
“We had Wolves pegged back for the last 15-20 minutes and there is nothing wrong with our fitness.
“We just didn’t quite have the belief to put the ball in the net.
“They were fourth in the table and we were fourth bottom but there was nothing in the game.
“The lads are not hiding in their responsibility. They came here and played well, created opportunities, but we’ve got to make sure for 95 minutes that we concentrate.
“We are putting too much pressure on ourselves to get that goal.”
After one win in eight attempts in the Championship, you might be forgiven for thinking a visit to the Premier League leaders is not something to be particularly relished.
But Freedman is relishing the idea of taking on Jose Mourinho in an arena far less pressured than the one he will find at the Macron at the weekend when his team host Derby County.
“It’s certainly a nice distraction,” he said. “If you can’t look forward to Chelsea as a professional then you shouldn’t be one.
“I won’t need to motivate the lads for that game. We will be up for it.
“We’ve got Derby at home after that and I don’t fear any of these teams.”
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