Fulham 1 Wolves 3 - five talking points

It was Wolves' third win from three matches and moved them to 16th in the Championship table, five points clear of relegation.

Who made the difference for Wolves? And what are their survival prospects now? Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers picks out five talking points.

What a week

It was Harold Wilson who coined the phrase ‘a week is a long time in politics’.

Well if Harry was a Wolves fan he’d surely have amended it to reflect the rollercoaster that this club throws up week after week – and never more so than from March 11 to 18, 2017.

Just a week ago Wolves were one shanked shot away from being dumped in the relegation zone by Rotherham United, a team that have earned a paltry 17 points from their 38 matches.

Had that happened, they would have travelled to Brentford on Tuesday under immense pressure to win their game in hand. Everything changes when you’re below that dotted line.

Instead, Wolves clung on to victory against the Millers, produced their best 90-minute league performance of the season at Brentford – and then topped it all off by beating the ‘best footballing team in the division’ according to Paul Lambert, by three goals to one.

It means they won three games in a row for the first time since January 2016 and gone four unbeaten for the first time since August.

The three goals they scored also made it 19 in just five matches against Fulham.

All of a sudden safety looks more likely than relegation.

Life on the road

Wolves now possess, believe it or not, the fifth best away record in the Championship, as opposed to the 22nd-worst home record.

If the majority of their remaining nine matches were on the road you'd say they had a shot of finishing in the top half, let alone merely avoiding relegation.

Unfortunately, though, six of their final nine matches take place at Molineux, a ground where they’ve won two of their last seven, both 1-0, against dreadful Rotherham and a very poor Villa side.

Wolves are a different team away from home. One that plays with freedom and purpose and looks like scoring goals.

For four successive away matches they’ve been the better side, unluckily losing to Reading, drawing when they should have won at Ipswich and now beating Brentford and Fulham.

It’s clear where Wolves’ offensive strengths (soaking up pressure and playing on the counter-attack at pace) and weaknesses (an inability to play through and break down a defensive team) lie. But they can't sit deep and let the opposition play at home. The onus will be on them to attack Cardiff, to attack Nottingham Forest.

And that’s why, despite a perfect week of three wins from three matches, Wolves aren’t safe yet.

If – and it remains a big if – they can transfer their away form to Molineux, then Wolves will wrap this up pretty quickly.

Catch Costa and Cav if you can

The return of Ivan Cavaleiro, who last started at Molineux in that Villa victory, should make a big difference in that regard.

He was inspirational in a free number 10 role at Craven Cottage and has the ability to unlock any Championship defence, counter-attack or no counter-attack.

Cavaleiro was inspired, but the performance of Helder Costa topped that. His two magnificent assists were of a quality that Fulham simply couldn’t match.

Kortney Hause was exceptional at the back, while Danny Batth had his best game for weeks. Lee Evans kept things tidy and offered great protection to the back four, while the relentless David Edwards did the same and contributed to two goals, reaching double figures for the season and sending a gorgeous chip over the back line in the build-up to the second.

In fact no one played badly, they all deserve praise.

But Wolves probably wouldn't have won this were it not for their magical Portuguese duo.

Fearsome foursome

That’s what’s been the key for Wolves during their successful five days in the capital – the freedom and creativity of a confident front line.

The defence hasn’t been a serious problem since the Zenga era and the midfield have stayed fairly consistent, but it’s been their floundering attack that has cost Wolves.

With Edwards in his more effective role in central midfield rather than the 10, Wolves had a marauding front four that regularly interchanged and were given licence to play with freedom.

Ben Marshall and Andreas Weimann also impressed, again.

The classy Marshall is clever in possession, does his fair share of defensive work and knows how to win matches at this level. For Weimann – a ‘freak of nature’ in terms of his work ethic according to Lambert – it’s two goals in two appearances as a central striker. Those kind of stats are unheard of this season.

Yes, it’s all starting to click. In his fearsome foursome Lambert has a formula for goals and survival.

With Dicko and Bodvarsson on the bench and Jordan Graham and Joe Mason to return in the coming weeks, Wolves' attacking options suddenly look very handy indeed.

Prescient Paul

All throughout Wolves' nightmare losing run Lambert repeatedly stated there was no need to panic, little needed changing, the tide would turn.

He kept a calm head amid the mini meltdown - and that was transferred to his players. That was evident at Brentford when despite having 22 shots to 7 and still being 1-0 down, they didn't let their heads drop.

It suggests they have faith in their boss, too.

"It's not rocket science," Lambert said on Saturday. "All that was missing was the finishing. Was there a clear message to change? No there wasn't. You can't keep dominating matches and not get the rewards, it doesn't stack up.

"It's funny, you get the usual nonsense when a new manager comes into the club.

"You get one or two results, you go and beat Liverpool and Stoke and everyone thinks you're great, you lose a few and everyone wants you out. I never get too high or low. But I never once felt under stress because I knew how well we were playing."

The boss seems to have been stung by the harsh criticism that came his way. Can you blame him? Lambert finally delivered a victory last weekend after an awful winless drought - and was booed.

Yes he's made mistakes and failed to solve the Molineux conundrum (albeit from what is still only four months in charge), but the Scot deserves praise for the mini turnaround he's overseen.

He took the shackles off his front four at Craven Cottage and implemented a perfect game plan, restricting space for Fulham's classy midfielders and playing them like a fiddle on the counter.

The Scot should also be lauded for the two signings he made in January, with Marshall and Weimann now consistently making a contribution.

He will now look to make the run-in as stress-free as possible. The sooner safety is secured the sooner he can begin looking to next season - and a crucial summer for key additions in the transfer market.

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