The Tim Spiers debrief – Wolves 2 Tottenham Hotspur 3

It was a thriller at Molineux, though, with plenty of positives for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to take.

Magic Morgan

The chief positive was the performance of Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Stafford-born midfielder was handed his big chance by Nuno Espirito Santo, with 28 minutes to impress rather than five, and took the game by the scruff of the neck, inspiring his more senior colleagues with a performance of gumption, positivity, character and vibrancy.

The South Bank sang his name as the teams left the field and that was the abiding memory of a memorable Saturday night encounter under the lights.

There’s no doubt that if he keeps his work rate as high as his talent, Gibbs-White can be a superstar in the making.

But for the here and now he offers Wolves something different and unpredictable in midfield.

In recent weeks Nuno’s team have looked a tad one dimensional and, as good as Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho are, neither of them is going to skip by Harry Winks and race towards the box in the manner Gibbs-White did.

Will he start next weekend? Highly unlikely – it should be remembered Wolves were 3-0 down with nothing to lose when he came on – but if Gibbs-White can keep those levels up he offers a Plan B in midfield, which Wolves have lacked at times. Stop Neves and Moutinho and you can stop Wolves...well Gibbs-White is a different prospect altogether.

He offers pace and a direct route to goal. And the fact he happens to be a Compton Park academy graduate just sweetens the deal – as the South Bank sang, "he's one of our own".

Defensive frailties

While Gibbs-White's cameo is what sticks in the mind, the fact is Wolves lost this game and they did so because of poor defending.

That’s not something that could have been said too often during Nuno's 15-month reign.

But there were several lapses in concentration with the back three and wing-backs all guilty and culpable for the three goals.

Spurs showed goal-shy Wolves how it should be done, as Glenn Murray had at Brighton last week, but the space afforded to Erik Lamela for the first goal and Lucas Moura for the second was criminal.

Willy Boly, who can look like a world beater and then dozy and flustered in the same game, was caught napping for the first goal and then Ryan Bennett and Matt Doherty have allowed Lucas in between them for the second.

Then for the third, Boly lost the header and Conor Coady couldn’t stop Lamela.

It's high standards and fine margins in the Premier League, but Wolves aren’t hiding behind excuses. They want to belong at this level.

To do that they know they must improve and six goals conceded in the last three games – including two quickfire doubles from Watford and now Spurs, shows there’s plenty of room to do so.

Forward thinking

Wolves’ four forwards came into the game having provided precisely zero assists this season.

Diogo Jota sat this one out through injury but the other three couldn’t register a first assist, or in Costa’s case, a first goal.

However, there were signs of improvement, especially from Costa who enjoyed an unplayable spell early in the second half when he galvanised Wolves with a couple of electric runs forward, setting up a great Raul Jimenez chance and then showing dazzling footwork before testing Hugo Lloris at his near post.

This was Costa’s season in a nutshell – plenty of promise, some eye-catching skill...but, ultimately, lacking that killer touch where it really counts.

He’ll be having nightmares about that gilt-edged opportunity put on a plate by Gibbs-White, which he prodded wide when through on goal.

It feels harsh to criticise after a performance of such promise from Costa, who's done so on a number of occasions this season, but, again, those Premier League standards are pretty damn high, especially at the level Wolves aspire to.

Ivan Cavaleiro got a good hour under his belt as he made his first league start of the season – and did enough to earn another start at Arsenal next weekend.

It was telling, though, that with Wolves 3-0 down and chasing the game, Adama Traore wasn’t called for. Gibbs-White and Leo Bonatini were sent on and Traore had to wait until the 84th minute to enter the fray.

You expect your £18million club record signing to be used earlier than that, but Nuno clearly doesn’t trust Traore yet.

Whether Nuno gets the best from the mercurial Spaniard could be a defining factor in Wolves’ season, as they search for that elusive finishing touch in the opposition penalty area.

Rousing

There was an opportunity for Wolves to throw the towel in on 62 minutes.

They’d played well in three spells – the opening stages, just before half-time (when they cruelly had a perfectly good goal disallowed) and then again immediately after the break...but were 3-0 down.

It didn’t seem fair and it wasn’t a fair reflection of how Nuno’s team had played.

What followed – inspired by Gibbs-White but also the up-and-at-them approach of Ruben Neves, Leo Bonatini and Raul Jimenez – was a galvanising comeback.

Molineux was as despondent as it has since the pre-Nuno days – and Twitter was a car crash of grammatically incorrect fury – but 20 minutes later the place was absolutely rocking after Wolves fought tooth and nail to get back into the game.

It was inspiring stuff and bodes well for the months ahead.

They've got a few problems in both boxes that need ironing out but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Wolves’ fighting spirit.

They're 11th in the Premier League – which the vast majority of fans would have taken at the start of the campaign – and soon face three of the league's bottom four teams in quick succession.

Three defeats in a row, yes, but some perspective is needed.

Next up

A trip to Arsenal isn’t exactly what you’d request if you were looking to end a three-game losing streak.

The Gunners are on a 13-match unbeaten run and won 11 in a row before drawing the last two.

They’re enjoying a renaissance under Unai Emery and could be mounting a title charge.

For Wolves this becomes a free hit – but one they can enjoy. There’ll be space to exploit at the Emirates, it should make for an entertaining game. Let’s see what they can do – they have the talent to hurt Arsenal, but it goes without saying they need to be considerably tighter at the back.

Final word

Star man: Morgan Gibbs-White

The boss: Changes made an impact

Fans: Stuck with the team

Magic moment: Gibbs-White racing by Winks in the build-up to winning a corner, then geeing up the South Bank

In a word: Frustrating

Picture perfect: