Roger Johnson wins support of Wolves boss

Stale Solbakken today insisted Roger Johnson can win over the Wolves fans again by showing 100 per cent commitment to the cause.

The manager has extended the £4m signing an olive branch after his Wolves career hit the rocks following a problematic first season at the club which saw him turn up to train showing the effects of alcohol, involved in a heated exchange with keeper Wayne Hennessey against Bolton and dropped from the team.

Johnson has returned to pre-season in excellent shape, however, and looking like he is determined to grasp his chance.

Fans' reaction to Johnson has showed signs of thawing and Solbakken is hoping the 29-year-old can be the player Wolves thought they had signed last summer.

"Roger has a revenge mission to perform from last season," said the boss.

"I've told him that he can have a fresh start if he can handle the situation both on and off the pitch. From what I've seen so far, he's trained well and is very fit and is mentally in a good place.

"It's up to him to bury things that happened or may have happened last year. The situation with the fans is also a little bit up to Roger.

"I don't know so much about what happened last year, but if there has been a strained relationship with the fans, I think that can be solved if he shows 100 per cent commitment on and off the pitch."

Solbakken wants a dominant centre-back and looks to have missed out on Real Sociedad's Vadim Demidov, now set for a £1m move to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Meanwhile, Solbakken welcomed Irish trio Stephen Ward, Stephen Hunt and Kevin Doyle back to pre-season training today.

"They should have big roles to play this season," he said. "All three of them have experience and the potential to make us a good team next season. With 46 games you need a lot of good players."

Solbakken, also prepared to welcome back midfielder Adlene Guedioura, added: "If they've been lying on the beach for a long time they have to catch up fast! I'm sure they've done their programmes and we're looking forward to seeing them."

* Steven Fletcher (2), Matt Jarvis, Frank Nouble and Matt Doherty scored in Wolves' 5-1 friendly win over Bray Wanderers.