Dean Saunders hails Wolves for fighting back
Manager Dean Saunders today hailed his Wolves side for fighting back from rock bottom.
Wolves were staring at a potentially apocalyptic scenario on?Saturday afternoon as Bristol City led Saunders' men 1-0 and the victory would have sent the home side to the Championship basement.
However, Saunders' first home win kept Wolves second from bottom following wins for Barnsley and Peterborough after Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Kevin Doyle cancelled out David Davis' calamity own goal.
Wolves also lost Bakary Sako and Dave Edwards to injury during a morale-sapping first half to a pulled hamstring and a suspected broken foot.
And the Molineux chief was delighted with the response of his players after some choice words at half-time.
"I told them we were sitting there waiting for something to happen and were just going to slide to the bottom of the league if we didn't do something about it," said Saunders.
"The players needed to find something inside them and they did.
"The players dug in and got the result – instead of lying down and dying they came back.
"They showed brilliant character when it was as low as it could be, what with conceding a goal like that."
Saunders took goalkeeper Carl Ikeme off at half-time after his blunder dealing with Davis' backpass, but stressed he had injured his hand.
Asked if Ikeme had 'had a go back', the manager said: "I had a go at all of them.
"But what goes on in the dressing room stays there – I don't tell people what I say to the players at half-time apart from saying I had a go at them. Carl hurt his hand on the pitch and that made my mind up.
"It was forced on me because his hand wasn't perfect and he may need an x-ray. But it was a calamity goal to concede. The two of them should have done better."
Saunders singled out Doyle and Stephen Hunt, who set up both goals after being booed when he came on, for special praise.
"I gave Kevin the captaincy because I thought that responsibility might help and he got a great goal.
"Stephen Hunt changed the game with two brilliant crosses for our goals."
"I'm surprised the fans are giving him stick because they normally like players who give everything."
Of the injuries, Saunders said: "Sako pulled his hamstring and I hope Dave hasn't broken his foot, but we'll wait and see."
