Michael Kightly has branded Bristol City boss Gary Johnson’s claims that Wolves have all but won the Championship title as “rubbish”.

Wolves’ 2-2 draw against City on Saturday night extended their lead at the top to five points after Reading’s 2-0 defeat at Swansea.

But after letting a two-goal lead slip at Ashton Gate, Wolves have now taken just three points from the last 12 on offer.

Mick McCarthy’s side know they have plenty of work ahead, and Kightly believes they will be caught if they continue their current winless league run.

Johnson said: “Mick (McCarthy) won’t thank me for saying this, but I think they have almost won the league now through the number of wins they’ve had already.

“They had those 10-12 wins on the trot (it was actually two periods of seven successive wins) and it’s going to be very difficult for teams to catch them up.

“Along with Birmingham and Reading, it’s pretty much a three-horse race for the automatic promotion spots.

“They’re top of the league and they’re top on merit.”

Kightly countered: “That’s a load of rubbish – there’s still a lot of teams in the hunt for it. We haven’t won for four games and if we do that again, we’ll be chasing someone else.

“There’s pressure at the top of the league and everyone keeps saying it’s ours to lose.

“But we know we’re good enough to go up this season and hopefully we can.”

Kightly insists the players are unaffected by the poor run.