Sylvan Ebanks-Blake insists Wolves are not feeling the title pressure

Mar 19 2009 by Chris Lepkowski, Birmingham Post

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake insists there will be no late jitters as Wolverhampton Wanderers close in on a return to the Premier League.

Mick McCarthy’s men are three points ahead of second-placed Birmingham City with seven games to play and potentially seven points in front of Reading, assuming Steve Coppell’s men fail to make the most of their game in hand.

But Wolves have been here before and failed.

In 2002 West Bromwich Albion won seven of their final eight games to claw back a 11-point deficit from their Black Country rivals.

Wolves were beaten to the line on the final day of the season with Gary Megson’s Baggies side ensuring a runners-up spot, behind Manchester City, with a 2-0 home win against Crystal Palace.

But Ebanks-Blake insists that there will be no such dramas this season.

He claims Wolves are hitting form at just the right time.

Asked if they were feeling any nerves, Ebanks-Blake said: “I don’t think so.

“It’s a fearless bunch of lads here that really want to achieve and want to do well.

“We’re lucky enough to have a manager and staff who have been in and around the Premier League and higher levels of football and they keep calm heads around the place and don’t let any of us getting carried away.

“There are no nerves or pressure – we are fearless and just want to go out and win games.

“The football isn’t going to be pretty at this time of year but we’ve got enough to be able to mix it and grind out results and we’ve done that in the last three or four games.

“We’ve shown promotion-winning form in the last four games and if we can maintain that between now and the end of the season we’ll be promoted.

“That’s what we’re focused on doing and we have got to stay focused over this final straight.”

But Ebanks-Blake is not getting too carried away with his side’s progress.

He has resisted the temptation to study the Premier League too much.

“I look and say I’d like to be there but certainly not that I will be there because it’s not a foregone conclusion,” he added.

“We’re focused still on what we’ve got to do to get there and concentrate on the games remaining between now and the end of the season.

“There are chances for promoted teams to be able to stay up there but whoever goes up has to have a confidence that they can do it.

“You have to think that you deserve to be there and hold your ground and that’s what happens with the teams that do reasonably well.”

n  Ross McCormack scored a dramatic stoppage-time penalty as Cardiff City snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win over Watford last night to move up to fifth in the Championship table.

McCormack, who had missed a golden chance at the start of the second half, kept his cool to net from the spot after Ross Jenkins was alleged to have handled Roger Johnson’s header.

The Hornets had gone ahead through Tommy Smith’s penalty but their lead was short-lived as Jay Bothroyd’s well-taken strike drew the home side level.

The home side dominated proceedings from thereon in but were unable to find a breakthrough until the very last minute of stoppage time when the impressive McCormack won it from the spot.