Moxey: 40 points may not be enough

Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey has hailed the achievements of Mick McCarthy in overcoming a lengthy injury list to give the club a fighting chance of surviving in the Barclays Premier League.

Moxey believes Wolves are "just about on course" to reach the 40-point target which will probably keep them in the top flight after gaining promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship as champions.

They head into the New Year with 19 points from 20 games and occupying 15th spot.

McCarthy has achieved this despite the likes of Michael Kightly, Andy Keogh, ex-Shrewsbury man Dave Edwards, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Kevin Foley, Ronald Zubar, Richard Stearman, Stephen Ward, Chris Iwelumo and David Jones all having spells on the sidelines.

Moxey said: "There are already some solid foundations in place regarding the ultimate ambition of this season, top-flight survival.

"Much has been made of the casualty lists of top teams like Manchester United and Liverpool but, given our lower profile at Premier League level, our problems appear to go unnoticed.

"The list of injuries goes on and the problems we've encountered are always going to add to the major challenges faced by Mick in maximising his resources in the most efficient way .

"I don't think anyone can disagree he has done that so far and we have held our own in the the face of what we always knew would prove a mammoth task as one of the newly promoted teams."

Moxey admits it may take more than 40 points to guarantee safety this season.

He said: "The way this season is panning out, with teams in the bottom half seemingly capable of beating everyone else, and the congested group of teams in the bottom half, the final survival target may well be more than 40 points."

By John Curtis