It will be perfectly normal for Jody Craddock to feel a few pre-match nerves ahead of tomorrow's clash at Bolton - infact the experienced defender would be worried if he didn't.

 

However once that first whistle blows in the pressure cooker of the Reebok Stadium, Craddock will be right at it with the rest of the Wolves team focused on trying to secure a positive result.

 

And in that respect, he will not be treating the game any differently to last weekend's with Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea.

 

"The atmosphere will be good as it always there and it will be a tough game," he says.

 

"They are desperate to win the game as we are so it should make for an entertaining game although maybe not!

"It's going to be a battle for both sides.

 

"There is pressure given who we are playing but I don't feel any different to how it was when we played Chelsea.

 

"I'm looking forward to it as I'm sure everyone is - this is great for me and I'm enjoying every game I play.

 

"You need a little bit of nerves because it helps you focus and be up for the game - that's the way I find it.

 

"But as soon as the first whistle goes it's a case of concentrating on the game and doing your job for the team."

 

 

Last weekend's Chelsea performance provided plenty of positives for Craddock and company, with Wolves undone only by a moment of magic via an excellent passing move and then some hesitant defending following a punt through the middle.

 

Mistakes can be made - as Craddock suggests if there weren't then there would be more Wolves players turning out for Chelsea! - but he believes the team can learn from the positives of Saturday's 2-0 defeat.

"Although we lost against Chelsea I thought we played well and were confident about the performance," he reflected.

 

"We were up against the best team in the division and we still managed to pass the ball well and create chances, probably more than they did.

 

"We should look at that and take the positives because there were more of those than negatives.

 

"There are always going to be things that happen in games and if we didn't make mistakes then we'd probably all be playing for Chelsea!

 

"You just have to learn from them and try to improve, and we need to take that into the Bolton game.

 

"We just need to be a bit tighter at the back and we are capable of going up there and getting a win.

 

"There is pressure on the game but there is pressure on every game.

"Think back to Tottenham and there was pressure on that because we needed a win and produced  a great result.

 

"There's pressure on tomorrow' game but it's the same for Bolton if not more because they are at home.

 

"It is so tight down there and a win for any team moves them up a few places and obviously it would be great if that was us tomorrow."

 

Wolves haven't won a league fixture away at Bolton in six attempts stretching back to Graham Taylor's first game in charge and a 3-1 victory at the old Burnden Park back in March, 1994.

 

They should perhaps have done so on their last visit however, when Alex Rae's first half thunderbolt put them in front in the Premier League in September, 2003.

 

But Kevin Davies popped up with an 85^th minute equaliser, and the troublesome striker, missing through suspension when Wolves won at Molineux in December, is likely to be leading the Bolton line tomorrow afternoon.

 

"I've played against Kevin before and he's big and strong and good in the air," says Craddock, the only Wolves survivor from that last Reebok shindig.

 

"Bolton have got some good players and if they do try to hit Kevin in the air it will be up to me - if selected - and Christophe to snuff that out and keep him quiet."

 

If they can keep Davies and Bolton quiet, it could lead to the positive result which would keep Wolves out of the bottom three come 4.50 tomorrow.

 

Craddock is confident the team have it in them to survive.

 

"We're out of the bottom three at the moment which is great," he says.

 

"And although results might not have shown it we are playing some decent football which is encouraging.

 

"Bar the Crystal Palace game we've been doing pretty well and everyone is feeling confident.

 

"We've got a good bunch of lads together and a couple coming back from injury which will give us a boost towards the end of the season."

 

* Jody Craddock is priced at 25-1 with sponsors Sportingbet.com to score first tomorrow. Click here for all the details.

 

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