Elliott backs Wolves after loss

Hot-shot Stephen Elliott tipped Wolves to bounce back – but piled the promotion pressure on his old club after declaring their blip has given hope to the rest of the Championship.

Elliott's two goals for Preston helped sink his old side 3-1 at Molineux on Saturday, 24 hours after Wolves' lead had been cut from seven to four points by Reading's 4-0 win over Watford.

"The start they had helped them massively because it gave them an edge on the other teams, but they've had a minor blip and everyone seems to be catching everyone up," said Elliott. "It's really tight now and everyone will feel they have a chance.

"But Wolves have a very good squad and strength in depth and they'll probably bounce back, but it was a massive victory for us.

"I'm sure they will bounce back – they've got enough character in the squad.

"They've had a minor blip recently but they've got enough to be up there come the end of the season – as have a lot of other teams.

"But I'm not looking after Wolves – my ties are with Preston now and I'm just concentrating on that."

Elliott admitted scoring twice against the Molineux fans who jeered him was "special".

"It's always nice to score no matter who it's against, but to do it against your old team is always special," he said. "I've scored against Wolves a lot of times I've played against them – they're a good team for me to play against but maybe not a great team for me to play for!

"Coming back to your old club you want to do well, and with them flying all season, it was a massive result.

"But I'm friends with most of the Wolves lads and I still speak to them."

Captain Karl Henry accused Wolves of a lack of professionalism – and warned any more performances could shatter their promotion dream.

By TIM NASH