Wolves keen to beat the big freeze

Wolves today insisted they are "optimistic" their Boxing Day clash against Wigan will go ahead, despite the Arctic conditions.

Providing the latest weather forecast proves correct, club officials expect Molineux to be playable and for the surrounding areas to be safe enough to prevent a second successive Premier League postponement, following Sunday's Black Country derby at Albion.

"We remain optimistic of the game going ahead," said club secretary Richard Skirrow.

"The undersoil heating has been switched on for about three weeks it's controlled via a thermostat and automatically kicks in as required and it's working well.

"The forecast suggests we've seen the last of the snow before the Wigan game so that should cease to be a problem, although the temperatures on Christmas night are expected to be very cold down to minus 7c or possibly double figures.

"The pitch should still cope with that, and providing there's no more snow, we can make the pitch and the surrounding areas safe."

Club staff are also having to cope with other associated concerns inside the stadium.

"One of the problems is frozen water pipes in the stands," he added.