Dean Saunders: Scrapheap waits for flops

George Elokobi, Christophe Berra, Stephen Hunt, Dave Edwards, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Leigh Griffiths and Sam Winnall are out of contracts this summer, although the club have one-year options on Elokobi, Edwards and Griffiths.

Berra is set to leave, while Saunders has indicated his keenness for Elokobi, Hunt and Edwards to prove themselves and has recommended 11-goal top scorer Ebanks-Blake for a new deal.

But with Wolves locked in a relegation fight for the second successive season, the manager warned their futures are very much in their own hands – and there are some high profile players struggling to find clubs.

Among them, former Wolves left back Lee Naylor has been without a club all season and fellow Bosman and one-time Molineux target James McFadden has struggled to find a new team.

"I've said to all of them; If we don't win games, there are consequences for everyone," said Saunders, who has hinted at a summer overhaul of his squad.

"I've seen it before. There's no use thinking to yourself 'I'll get another club somewhere else'.

"There are a lot of really good players scrabbling around trying to find a club.

"But if we win games, it will go the other way – Jez Moxey (chief executive) will be calling you in offering you a new contract."

Saunders believes that although results haven't shown the desired improvement before today's trip to Derby, performances and fitness levels have, with the players now training harder.

"I've told them it's only a matter of rolling your sleeves up and working hard so you're fit enough to do what I want you to do, and win games late on," he said.

"That was one thing I was pleased about on Saturday, was that we had the energy to finish a game like we did. They will get better and better, the more they put in out there on the training pitches."