Karl Henry has challenged Wolves to handle the high pressure games looming in the next month by repeating the form shown against the top four in the Barclays Premier League.

Wolves skipper Henry believes Mick McCarthy’s side deserved some tangible reward after their performances against Manchester United on Saturday and Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal.

It was the climax of a demanding schedule which had also seen Wolves play leaders Chelsea and Manchester City in successive matches.

But Henry knows the importance to Wolves of the run of matches ahead against Bolton, Blackpool, Sunderland, Blackburn, Birmingham, West Brom and Wigan before Christmas.

Henry said: “We have to take real confidence with how we’re playing.

“There’s no doubt in our minds that we’re playing better football than we were last season and we’re creating more chances.

“We’ve got one point less than we had at this stage last year.

“But, to put things into perspective, we finished eight points clear of the drop zone and we didn’t get anything out of Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea, so nothing’s changed.

“We weren’t expected to get anything from these games but we’ve given them a good run for their money.”

Henry knows there will be a different mindset amongst supporters about the forthcoming batch of games.

He said: “We’ve got seven games coming up now which are completely different to the four we’ve just played.”

By MALCOLM LEE