The Tim Spiers debrief – Wolves 1 Fulham 0

Three points all-but secured seventh place – and a potential Europa League campaign.

Home comforts

Eleven matches at Molineux since January 7 – nine wins and two draws.

To go unbeaten for four months at home is a notable achievement in any division, let alone the Premier League.

Liverpool, Manchester United (twice), Arsenal, Leicester and West Ham have visited Molineux in that time – and all have been beaten.

The switch to 3-5-2 has been crucial to Wolves’ success and that’s true for their home form too.

The last time Nuno Espirito Santo selected 3-4-3 from the start was for the vacuous 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on January 2, Wolves’ last home defeat.

Javi Gracia (Watford), David Wagner (Huddersfield) and Roy Hodgson (Palace) had all previously done a number on Nuno, flooding the midfield and doubling up on Wolves’ wide forwards.

A slight tinker and the introduction of Leander Dendoncker helped free up Joao Moutinho, whose performances since the turn of the year haven’t been too far short of perfection.

Up front Diogo Jota has been the inspiration for a prolific strike partnership with Raul Jimenez.

It was Dendoncker who was the hero on Saturday, popping up with precision timing to convert Matt Doherty’s cross, which took Doherty’s combined goals and assists tally to a remarkable 16 in all competitions.

Dendoncker’s somewhat crazed runs from deep (at full pelt he can resemble a sprinting ostrich who needs the toilet) are too often unnoticed or ignored by his team-mates, but he has a nice habit of searing into the box unchecked by the opposition.

One of the few things Wolves can improve on next season is goals from midfield and Dendoncker, who is pretty decent in the air too, should aim to notch somewhere near the double-figure mark. He looks capable of doing so.

Moutinho, Jonny Castro Otto, Adama Traore and Helder Costa have only notched one goal each this season, Morgan Gibbs-White and Ruben Vinagre have failed to score.

It feels churlish calling for improvements after a league season of near-perfection, but that’s one thing Nuno will need to address.

Rewarded

Saturday’s win shared many similarities with the stalemate against Brighton a couple of weeks ago, but here Wolves got their reward.

As against Brighton they also hit the woodwork twice and on another day could have racked up a rout.

The two performances bode well for next season, when they’ll need to avoid a repeat of their bottom six hoodoo.

Again, a goalscoring midfielder, perhaps a number 10 who can help unlock the defensive door, will be pivotal to overcoming negative-minded teams, as Dendoncker did here.

Character

The character Wolves have shown in recent weeks has been deeply impressive.

The FA Cup semi-final defeat to Watford was gut-wrenching. Not just the defeat itself, but the manner of it.

To have thrown it all away like that isn’t easy to get over. Indeed, captain Conor Coady stated he’ll never get over it.

A week later Wolves travelled to Southampton and produced the worst defensive performance of Nuno’s tenure.

They were shambolic at the back and the 3-1 defeat flattered them.

To then respond with, after the frustrating Brighton stalemate, three successive victories is to be highly commended.

Individually and collective, this team has courage, valour and pride.

They seem to lift each other’s standards. Recruitment in people, not just players, has been vital to this.

“Recruitment is looked at and we have people with no egos who just want to get their head down and play football,” Matt Doherty said on Saturday.

“You couldn’t look at anyone in the squad and say they’re not involved at all. Everybody’s close, everybody’s friends, so recruitment has been very good.”

It’s that team spirit, that character and that cohesion, on and off the field, which has been so instrumental in Wolves’ success.

Another factor in their recent mini revival has been the introduction back into the side of Ryan Bennett.

In the four games since he came back into the back three Wolves have conceded only one goal. The fact it was Bennett’s error which caused it, at Watford, is immaterial seen as mistakes from the 29-year-old are so rare.

Bennett may lack flair, his technique may fall short compared to most of his team-mates, but his defensive nous is second to none.

Solid, reliable, no-nonsense players are the glue which binds any successful team. Bennett’s value – and the familiar relationships he has with Coady, Boly and Doherty in and around him – shouldn’t be underestimated.

Carnival

Wolves also did well to ignore the distinct ‘end of season feel’ this game had.

The atmosphere was akin to a testimonial, while before the game you had the peculiar sights of Nuno donning a graduation gown and hat, before WWE wrestler Sin Cara took to the field to shout a few things on a microphone (before taking his seat, mask still fixed to his head, in a directors’ box full of suits).

There was also the unusual occurrence of a triple substitution in added time, with Nuno handing first appearances of the season to Will Norris and Max Kilman.

While the head coach wanted to reward the pair for their efforts in reserve this season, it was slightly farcical that they only had 10 seconds on the field and didn’t even break into a jog, let alone touch the ball.

They’ll hope their next Premier League appearance will be an earned one, not a token gesture.

Sky is the limit

On May 4, 2013, Wolves were relegated to League One.

On May 4, 2019, Wolves all-but secured seventh place and possible European football.

It’s been a remarkable rise to the top echelons of the Premier League and, whatever happens next, this breakthrough season will be savoured.

Wolves will finish as high as they have since 1980. Their attendances are higher than they’ve been since 1970 (and every crowd has been above 30,000 for the first time since the 1940s).

But there is very little to suggest this is a one-off.

Final word

Star man: Joao Moutinho

The boss: Wolves were under doctor's orders

Fans: Raised the volume in the second half

Magic moment: Conor Coady's young lad scoring in front of the North Bank – the first Coady to score at Molineux this season

In a word: Persistent

Picture perfect: