Kightly up for the fight

Wolves' 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa extended their run without a league win to eight games, from which they have collected only four points. There were even internet rumours circulating among fans that manager Mick McCarthy was about to be sacked, although club sources have since strongly dismissed those claims.

"I don't think dropping into the bottom three for the first time will affect us psycologically. We've been fighting for months now to stay in the division," said Kightly.

"I don't think the fact we've just dropped into the bottom three makes too much difference. We knew before Saturday's game that we were in a dogfight and we're ready for it. We're not going to lie down and, if we go down, we'll be fighting.

"But I'm sure we have enough in that dressing room to stay in this league. I think we showed we're ready for the challenge. It's time for us all to roll up our sleeves, dig in and fight together to stay in this division."

Kightly scored his first Wolves goal for almost three years against Villa after lengthy injury setbacks.

He said: "I've had a tough two years and that goal was worth every minute of it.

"Hopefully I showed the Wolves fans that Michael Kightly is back and ready to show people I'm a Premier League player."

Source: PA

Source: PA