Stephen Hunt admits the respective standings of the two sides has placed added importance on Sunday's derby duel between Wolves and West Brom.
Wolves winger readying himself for crunch clash
Stephen Hunt admits the respective standings of the two sides has placed added importance on Sunday's derby duel between Wolves and West Brom.
Any meeting between the Black Country's finest tends to produce fireworks, but the latest instalment in their long-running battle for local supremacy has more riding on it than most.
Premier League survival is the name of the game at Molineux and at The Hawthorns, with both sides reluctant to contemplate what the cost of slipping out of the top tier could be.
Three points this weekend would go a long way to seeing either side safe, with this season's basement battle expected to go down to the wire.
Wolves winger Hunt does not need to be reminded as to the importance of the club's next fixture, but the experienced Republic of Ireland international admits he has rarely been involved in a derby with so much at stake.
Motivation
"Every derby game is very important," he told
Sky Sports.
"Obviously this year they are only four or five points ahead of us, so it's vital that we win the game and try to get closer to them. With the season coming into the last 13 or 14 games, things are heating up. It's going to be a tough game this weekend, but hopefully we'll come out on top.
"Every derby, when you are involved in the game, you go into it with an added bit of motivation to do well for the fans and for the club. When it comes to West Brom-Wolves and the rivalry, hopefully everyone can get behind us and help us to get the result we want.
"We'll be ready to go on Sunday. With it being on TV as well, that gives it that extra bit of spice. I'm sure everyone will be well behaved, they generally are, so it will just be a tough game and hopefully we can come out on top."
Wolves picked up three vital points on a trip to fellow strugglers Queens Park Rangers last weekend, with that success helping to snap the club out of a nine-match winless run.
Asked if it had been hard to raise morale during that slump, Hunt said: "It was a bit. When you are losing it's not nice. But we got three points last time out and the reaction of the boys has been a lot more positive.
"Come Sunday we should be in a good frame of mind and ready to go again. Two wins on the bounce would set us up nicely."
Struggling
Wolves' preparations for an eagerly-anticipated clash with their arch-enemies have not gone entirely to plan, though, with a number of key figures in the middle of the park set to be missing at Molineux.
"We have got a few midfielders out," said Hunt.
"(Emmanuel) Frimpong is going to be out for the rest of the season and he's going to be a big loss. He was a bubbly, fun character to have around, a great player on the pitch and a great character off it. He will be missed.
"(Karl) Henry is suspended and we have two or three injuries with players struggling to be fit, so hopefully some of them can be patched up. If not, I might have to play in there and that wouldn't be good!"
Stephen Hunt wears the PUMA King Finale SL available from www.prodirectsoccer.com
