Wolves 2 Stoke 1

Wolves fans who sang "We are top of the league" on Saturday might have had their tongues firmly in their cheeks.

But there is nothing flippant about Mick McCarthy's emerging team.

Some eight weeks after reporting back for the start of pre-season training, Saturday's opener couldn't come soon enough for Wolves' players.

How it showed.

In fact, there were so many good things about this performance, it's difficult to know where to start.

The fact it was achieved without the talismanic Kevin Doyle and new £7m record signing Steven Fletcher for almost the entire second half, was a start.

The fact Wolves dictated the tempo and outplayed Stoke with a brand of exciting, flowing football - apart from a 20-minute period of nerves after Fletcher went off - was another.

At times, the Scot had the galleries purring in admiration with a performance brimming with potential.

For fans of a certain vintage, there is something unmistakingly Doog-like about Fletcher's gangly, angular frame and the sublime touch and flicks with the left foot.

For a competitive debut, the former Burnley man oozed confidence in his own ability like the one-time idol to suggest he can be a force for Wolves for years to come.

Talking of new signings, who was that alongside him wearing the number nine shirt?

When the players reported back at the end of June with Doyle and Fletcher seemingly stitched on as the main strikeforce, the jury was out on what the future held for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

Even before the arrival of Fletcher, the positive noises coming from Steve Morgan and McCarthy suggested Ebanks-Blake would return a sharper, leaner and hungrier player.

They have been proved right.

While Wolves looked potent up front - how often have we said that about them in the Premier League? - McCarthy's diligence was shown in other areas.

New-boy Jelle van Damme hasn't quite been at the same tempo as his team-mates as he adapts to ruthless demands of the Premier League.

But the manager appears to have come up with the perfect solution.

By swapping Van Damme and the ever-willing Stephen Ward, the new man was not only kept from being exposed, but deployed further forward at left midfield where he starred for Anderlecht at the end of last season.

They say it's the little things that matter, and McCarthy's attention to detail was again in evidence in the opening minutes when Rory Delap started winding up for his long throws.

The Wolves boss was immediately in the fourth official's ear reminding him of the time Delap was taking as soon as he starting wiping the ball.

Thankfully Delap's throws never became the game's talking point like they did last April.

Instead, fans could reflect on a team that has markedly improved.

Before kick-off, McCarthy reminded his players that a year ago, he looked around the dressing room and there were only four of them with notable Premier League experience in his squad.

A year on, and all but Van Damme had played a minimum of a season in the top flight.

There is now a growing perception that this is the best group of players McCarthy has managed at club level.

In Christophe Berra, Karl Henry, David Jones, Matt Jarvis and Ebanks-Blake, Wolves have players who belong at this level alongside the experienced Hahnemann and Craddock.

It was Craddock whose fair challenge removed Stoke's best weapon, £8m striker Kenwyne Jones, after just 10 minutes.

The 37th minute opener - a superb flick-up and volleyed goal - was reward for Wolves' growing supremacy.

Two minutes later it was 2-0 when Fletcher bundled home to cap the move of the match.

Abdoulaye Faye's 55th minute header jangled a few nerves and sparked a sticky period for Wolves.

But they came through it and ultimately, they could have won by a more convincing margin. That they didn't was down to bad luck and poor finishing.

Ward hit the bar then sliced wide, and in between, Higginbotham's clear handball was missed by referee Lee Probert, whose performance was almost as frustrating as that of substitute Andy Keogh, who had the misfortune of being'subbed' himself late on.

The most important factor of all, of course, was the result.

Survival remains Wolves' priority, and, if the bookies' billing of joint third favourites for the drop is to be believed, there will be plenty of rocky times ahead.

But for the moment, there was a performance of real conviction and quality to be savoured.

Match analysis by Tim Nash