Blackpool 2 Wolves 1

The boos came at half-time - but the damage was done after less than three minutes.

Much of the talk on the radio airwaves on the way back surrounded the reasons why Prince William attended the game.

But Wolves fans would have been more interested at the decision of chairman Steve Morgan to sit among the Wolves fans.

Like the other 2,000-plus in the visitors' end, Morgan, who was with Steve Bull, was probably wondering why his team keep shooting themselves in the foot.

'Stay in the game for 10 minutes then we'll build from there' was one of the main thrusts of boss Mick McCarthy's team-talk before kick-off.

And yet despite the warnings, it was a case of 'here we go again' as Wolves fell behind again before their fans had barely settled in their seats.

As long as players — this time the normally immaculate Kevin Foley - commit suicidal errors so early in the game, Wolves will remain in the relegation places.

Foley had time to check his hair and his watch before dealing with Richard Kingson's goal kick, so long was the ball in the air.

But he might as well as have been getting his coat as he allowed Luke Varney to win the ball far too easily then lash home an admittedly unstoppable strike to put Blackpool ahead 155 seconds into the game.

Such is Wolves' luck at the moment — they make a mistake and it's punished in ruthless fashion. But they've got to start giving themselves a chance.

And, no matter how unlucky, sloppy or unjust each goal against might seem, these giveaways are chipping away at the thinning veneer of belief in the players.

When a team concedes so early, there is a tendency for them to snatch at things in their eagerness to hit back.

That was again the case here, but this time was different.

While effort and commitment were never in question — witness a 60-yard sprint by Richard Stearman to smother a Blackpool attack as Wolves were hopelessly outnumbered near the end as evidence — there were signs that this depressing run of nine defeats in 11 is affecting confidence.

Possibly for the first time this season, we saw players delaying letting fly from shooting positions and, in the second half, trying to walk the ball in.

As they are continually left to chase games, the fluency of their passing game has been replaced by a nervousness that threatens to choke their efforts to escape their current predicament.

Somehow, and from somewhere, Wolves have to rediscover that missing confidence and belief before it's too late.

All around them, teams give them hope with unexpected results, such as Birmingham's victory over Chelsea.

But with Wolves anchored by their own poor decision-making in both penalty areas, they are unable to take advantage of their own situation.

Quite what Morgan made of it is anyone's guess. But there's no denying his seat of choice on Saturday exposed him to the 'word on the street'.

And it can't have been particularly complimentary.

The fans who chanted loudly for Nenad Milijas after just 12 minutes got their wish within the first half hour when he replaced the out-of-sorts Foley, who was taken off after failing to shake off the effects of his mistake for the goal despite a move into central midfield.

Quite what Milijas had done to lose his place is anyone's guess.

For he at least was one of the players willing to take responsibility as Wolves chased the game, ultimately matching Blackpool's bold 4-2-4 by the hour mark after the worrying departure of Karl Henry, who looked to have hurt his knee.

Milijas smacked the post with one drive then lashed narrowly over with another.

Fellow substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake also hit the woodwork as Wolves piled forward after the break, while before it the unmarked Kevin Doyle glanced wide from one of the excellent crosses from George Elokobi, the duo finally combining to worthwhile effect four minutes from time to end the striker's 12-game goal drought.

But Wolves' look of a team nervous to 'have a go' at times is a worrying portent for the immediate future.

Mistakes don't help and Blackpool's second goal came when the normally unflappable Marcus Hahnemann dropped Charlie Adam's corner and one-time Wolves loanee Marlon Harewood prodded home.

Hahnemann claimed he was shoved and afterwards had a long chat with referee Mark Clattenburg, who said he hadn't seen it. Such is the way things are falling for Wolves at the moment.

All of which brings us to this Saturday.

Wolves need a positive and vibrant Molineux more than ever this weekend if they are to start climbing the table.

And the manager will be hoping his former employers Sunderland can give him and his team a helping hand.

Rather than the other way around again.

By Tim Nash