Wolves battle affecting Dean Saunders' home life

Chairman Steve Morgan recently admitted to spending nights in the spare room because thinking about Wolves keeps him awake at night.

And now, as he prepares for tomorrow's trip to Charlton, boss Saunders admits the tension is affecting his wife of 20 years, Helen.

Saunders said: "She loves football but it's getting a bit stressful for her at the minute. She'd rather be watching us at the other end of the table."

Saunders, who met Helen when he was a £60-a-week youngster at Swansea and she earned £120-a-week at the DVLA, admitted he couldn't be a manager without the understanding of his spouse.

He said: "You'd have to ask my wife to see if she's happy – the last time I spoke to her was last week!" You can't do this job without your wife's support.

"If she was on the phone saying 'what are you doing now?', 'where are you?' or 'are you out watching another game tonight – any chance of coming home?', you couldn't do this job.

"If I'm worried about anything, I can say it to her. I tell her if this or that isn't happening or a player isn't playing very well or 'I don't know what I'm going to do about him'.

"Then I put the telly on and watch football or go into the spare room!"

Saunders admits he feels a huge responsibility on his shoulders with the club's future in his hands,.

He said: "My job is to try to get us into the Premier League but the consequences of us not staying in this division are massive and everyone is relying on me to guide the team out of it.

"I feel that responsibility to guide us out of it and not to let everyone down."

Top scorer Sylvan Ebanks-Blake has broken his leg in three places, although Saunders insists the injury is not career-threatening.

He said: "They had to piece his fibula together. There is ligament damage but it's not career-threatening."

Ebanks-Blake sustained the injury in an innocuous-looking clash with Blues' Paul Robinson during Easter Monday's win at City.