Steve Davis praises Wolves youngster Joe Hodge for cup display

The 20-year-old, who has broken into the first team under interim head coach Davis, made his first senior start at Molineux on Wednesday and looked comfortable in midfield.

Hodge stood out for his ability to win the ball back and fight in challenges, despite his diminutive frame, and Davis was impressed.

"It was the right kind of game for him because he likes a scrap, and he was going to get that in the middle of the pitch," Davis said.

"It was ideal for him to play alongside Ruben (Neves), who can give him that support, and Joao (Moutinho) too when he came on.

"I thought Hodge was excellent. He grew into the game and did a lot of tackles and interceptions. A lot of things you don't really see, but he does really well.

"He cut his ankle in training but he just carried on. You could see the blood seeping through the sock but you wouldn't have even known, because that's the character he has. He'll run through brick walls for you.

"He loves those type of games. He was rubbing his hands and dying to get on the pitch and get involved. He was excellent."

Connor Ronan also had a first start of the season, after making his Premier League debut at the weekend, but had to come off against Leeds.

Davis added: "Connor struggled a little bit with his calf, that's why he came off."

Meanwhile, Davis believes his calmer approach has helped the Wolves players express their frustrations as the club battles relegation.

He said: “It’s important that you create that honest environment. It’s so easy for me to stand up and be expressive about my feelings, but it’s important you get the players’ feelings as well because they’re the ones doing it. That was the environment we tried to create from day one, where they could have a say, talk and get that emotion and their frustrations off their chest if they needed to, and use us as a sponge.

“I was happy to do that and it’s a two-way thing. It’s easy for me to shout and bawl at them, but I think that’s the wrong approach.

“I’ve always taken a calm approach in pressure situations and I think they’re feeding off that a lot better than me shouting, bawling and throwing things around. That’s not my style. We were very honest with each over after the Leicester game and very disappointed. A lot of things were said.

“But when the emotion is taken out of the game, it’s always better to leave it a day or two and go back to it and analyse it.”