Burnley 1 Wolves 0

Take a break lads – you need it.

If the four-day break in La Manga hasn't gone down well with some fans, the benefits of such a trip surely can't do the players any harm.

Because right now, they look as if they need something – anything – to recharge their season.

Legendary manager Brian Clough was always an advocate of getting the sun on players' backs and maybe a break and a change of scene could be just what the doctor ordered for a young squad looking as if they're carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

The body language confirmed as much as they quietly trooped to the team bus on Saturday night with a lengthy lecture from manager Mick McCarthy ringing in their ears.

Up until Saturday, McCarthy could at least say his stuttering team had been playing well, even if results were going against them.

Not now. Wolves produced arguably their worst performance of the season at Turf Moor.

Outplayed and out-thought, the players looked so devoid of confidence that the last place they looked like they wanted to be was on a Championship football pitch.

The 1-0 scoreline flattered them, and, but for Wayne Hennessey and the referee missing a clear penalty, Burnley could have scored four or five goals.

Wolves failed to force former Albion keeper Brian Jensen into a single notable save, the second game in a row that's happened save for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's blocked injury-time penalty at Coventry.

As McCarthy looks for answers to rescue his ailing side's form, his post-match assertion that losing top spot may actually help them might be as true as it is brutally honest.

Every team is now rubbing their hands at the prospect of facing Wolves, and the players in gold and black look as if the burden of being Championship leaders is a particularly difficult one to bear.

McCarthy must somehow balance the need for increased defensive solidity and retaining the undoubted attacking flair that has made Wolves the country's top scorers.

Part of his dilemma has to include what to do about his midfield.

Critics have argued for some time about a lack of a physical presence in the middle of the park, and try as they might, the combination of Nigel Quashie alongside Karl Henry doesn't yet look like the answer.

A section of fans certainly didn't think so, as it appeared as if Quashie was booed as he was substituted.

With Dave Jones unavailable due to a hamstring injury, Wolves never really posed a threat until Dave Edwards's 59th minute arrival.

And yet if McCarthy wants more protection for his back four, surely the two he played on Saturday are the most naturally defensively-minded.

His problem appears to be whether he can play Michael Kightly and Matt Jarvis away from home, or certainly the way they play as out-and-out wingers, which naturally increases pressure on the central midfielders.

That was abundantly clear on Saturday, when Burnley's fluid 4-1-3-2 formation saw tucked-in midfield men Robbie Blake and Wade Elliott dictate the play and carve Wolves open at times.

By contrast, Wolves looked rigid and predictable, although they weren't helped by a pudding of a pitch.

Maybe it's even a time to consider switching Kevin Foley to centre midfield, but that has to be tempered with the caution of throwing someone short on confidence into a largely foreign position, along with the disruption that entails.

What isn't in doubt is Wolves need a lucky break, and a win to breathe fresh life into a campaign fast losing momentum.

Wolves' dip can no longer be described as a mere blip – the nine games that have yielded just one win is almost a third of the total number of matches they have played so far.

In truth, they never looked like ending it in this chilly corner of East Lancashire. Chris McCann's simple downward header in the sixth minute put paid to that.

The goal also raised question marks over Hennessey's role after the keeper was beaten at his near post from inside the six-yard box, although he clearly expected his defenders to have dealt with Elliott's superb cross.

If Hennessey was culpable, he atoned by keeping his side in the game with a double save in the 24th minute to deny Steven Caldwell's back header then Martin Paterson's follow-up, then when he smothered McCann's angled shot on 56.

The one chance Wolves had to equalise, they wasted it when Richard Stearman headed wide 12 minutes from time.

So to the sun and maybe that will serve to dispel the storm clouds gathering on their promotion campaign.

Let's hope so.

By Tim Nash