Wolves captain Jody Craddock has issued a rallying call to his team ahead of the most important week in their season so far.

Mick McCarthy’s side have picked up headline-grabbing wins against four of the top six Barclays Premier League teams, but currently prop up the table – partly due to their inability to get results against their relegation rivals.

The Molineux outfit have collected just one point from a possible 15 against the four teams directly above them – a record Craddock feels has to change.

He said: “It’s so tight down there that we need to beat the teams around us to get above them. It’s as simple as that.

“It’s frustrating that we’ve gone on to beat Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United but are still bottom of the table.

“We’ve just got to look at those games and take all of the positives into every game we’ve got left.”

Wolves play West Brom in the Black Country derby on Sunday, followed by Blackpool the Saturday afterwards, and winger Matt Jarvis is under no illusions about the importance of these two fixtures.

He said: “We need a result, and the next two games are against teams that are in and around us. We’re going to have to be very strong and mentally tough.”

Both men were speaking at the launch of former Wolves goalkeeper Matt Murray’s testimonial year, from which proceeds will be donated to four charities – the Alzheimer’s Society, Penn Fields Special School, West Park Cycling group and the Mzamomhle primary school, situated in a poverty-stricken area near Cape Town.