Johnny Phillips: The ebbs and flows of battle to avoid the drop

It was confirmation that the encouraging start to Julen Lopetegui’s time here had real substance behind it – this was not a team that would be sucked into the mess at the bottom.

There was further approval a week later when the 10-man comeback at Southampton took Wolves well clear of trouble and put the boot into Nathan Jones’ agonising spell in charge of the Saints.

But the last three games have followed a different course and doubts have crept back into the thoughts of supporters.

The best thing about today’s match is that Wednesday’s showing at Liverpool can be erased from the forefront of the mind.

It was a truly dispiriting night at Anfield. A reasonably effective, yet limited, rearguard action in the first half was eroded by the home side’s persistence after the interval.

Wolves could have played through the night and on into Thursday morning and they would not have scored.

The second half was comfortably the worst 45 minutes of the Lopetegui era and there was no thread of positivity for supporters to cling to as they trudged out of the visitors’ section in the Anfield Road end.

Lopetegui knew it, too, admitting that the result was a fair reflection of the performance.

Arguments can be made for or against the initial team selection, but he made the substitutions at the right time, only to be left disheartened at their lack of impact, with the exception of Diego Costa who was barely given any minutes but still made his presence felt against Liverpool’s defence.

Might Lopetegui be tempted to try Costa in the first XI this afternoon?

It may not be a bad move given Raul Jimenez’s struggles, and the former Chelsea man enjoys the role of chief provocateur.

Costa has enjoyed some good days against Spurs in years gone by and, while this incarnation of the striker is far removed from his Stamford Bridge persona, he might unsettle Spurs’ defence from the start better than Jimenez.

Pedro Neto was deemed fit enough to be on the substitutes’ bench at Liverpool, but not trusted with any minutes on the pitch, which suggests he is still some way off. He cannot return soon enough, given such a laboured showing in attack.

Wolves need to do something that puts them on the front foot early on today.

They surrendered the initiative too easily at Anfield and could not deliver any sort of press on Liverpool’s defence, with Joao Moutinho ill at ease in an unfamiliar role just behind Jimenez.

It was a stark contrast with the way the veteran midfielder was best used in the reverse fixture at Molineux, when he came on as a substitute and stamped his class on the match with a key role in the third goal.

The outcome of this season will not hinge on games against Liverpool – or Spurs this afternoon – but the pressure has started to tell since the home defeat to Bournemouth, which was a big chance missed to put distance between Wolves and the other strugglers.

On the horizon, it is successive games against Leeds United and Nottingham Forest that now feel more relevant to the bunfight at the bottom.

It would be unwise to look too far ahead, but the idea of Wolves going into the last three games of the season still needing points is one that does not sit well.

Everton at home, with trips to Manchester United and Arsenal either side of that, is not for the faint-hearted.

It has been a long time since Wolves were genuinely in a relegation battle.

What should not be overlooked is that it does not take much to pull clear of trouble.

Teams often go for weeks on end without picking up any points at all.

Unlike at the top, where Arsenal know that any points dropped will seriously hamper their title ambitions, down at the bottom teams are averaging less than a point a game, taking it in turns to show how bad they can be.

It is an agonising time for supporters. Everton fans must have felt a saviour was in their midst when Sean Dyche masterminded an unlikely victory at home to Arsenal last month, only to hit the floor on Wednesday night when the same opposition dismantled them in London.

Southampton fans had the time of their lives at Stamford Bridge, beating Chelsea 1-0, but a week later the spirits were dashed with a hopeless defeat at relegation rivals Leeds.

Only David Moyes, of the teams in the bottom six, has been in charge of his club since the start of the season.

This is why it is so hard for all the other managers. Only rarely does a head coach come in mid-season and immediately deliver success.

What Lopetegui & Co are trying to do is put their own imprint on the team in the middle of a congested fixture list as opposed to a planned pre-season.

Lopetegui cut a frustrated figure in the dugout at Anfield.

The sight of Matheus Nunes squandering possession on more than one occasion drew particular angst but, centre-backs aside, it was a collective bad day at the office.

With only two days of preparation for Spurs – typically a warm down recovery Thursday and a shape session Friday – there is little the coaches can do, so the onus is on the players to recognise the situation and give supporters something to respond to this afternoon.

The talent is there, as demonstrated against Liverpool a month ago, so there is no need to panic but a sense of urgency would certainly help calm any nerves in the stands and demonstrate that the squad is not sleep-walking into trouble.