Carl Ikeme pushes claim to be No.1 for Stale

Carl Ikeme today re-iterated his desire to become Wolves' number one.

The 25-year-old keeper made his Premier League debut as a late substitute for Dorus De Vries, who suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-2 last-day defeat to Wigan.

That came more than three years after his last Wolves appearance, in the Championship title-winning season of 2008-09, when he dislodged Wayne Hennessey for 12 games.

But with Hennessey expected to be sidelined until October after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee, Ikeme is keen to push his claims after serving his time under Matt Murray, Hennessey, Marcus Hahnemann and De Vries.

"It was nice to get a few minutes under my belt and gives me something to strive for coming back next season," said Ikeme.

"I'm under no illusions about what the task is going to be like.

"Like anyone I want to play and don't just want to sit on the bench but it's going to be another difficult challenge.

"The new manager, Stale Solbakken, is coming in and we'll all have a chance to try to impress.

"I just want to come back fit and ready to work hard."

Ikeme insisted there will be no relegation hangover in the Championship.

"Everyone was a bit down at the end of the season but we'll soon be looking ahead and coming back buzzing and ready to prove a point," he said.