Kevin Doyle: Wolves may struggle as Championship is tougher than ever

It has been a mixed start to life for Wolves following their return to the Championship after finishing bottom of the Premier League last campaign.

Cesar Peixoto’s side sit 11th in the table on eight points, but having played one less game than most of the teams above them.

Having seen a freak own goal cause the club to drop points away at Birmingham, it is clear that life in the Championship will be far more difficult than initially envisaged.

Former Wolves man Kevin Doyle feels uncertain as to whether the club will win automatic promotion but thinks it will be unwise to write the side off.

Hard to call

Speaking to OLBG, who offer the Best Betting Sites, Doyle said “Will Wolves earn automatic promotion? I really don’t know.

“Wolves have been hard to call for a number of years, and it never seems like a fully happy place with the owners.

“It’s such a fabulous club, and they did really well to stay up for so long, so it’s probably harsh to criticize the owners. 

“However, they went from a club spending lots of money for a number of years when they first arrived in the Premier League to becoming a selling club, and you could slowly see the relegation coming.

“Regarding the manager, they brought Rob Edwards in at Christmas when they were already relegated and then got rid of him.

“I thought they actually picked up between Christmas and the end of the season, and then they sacked him, which was a strange move. 

“We won’t know the full story until the end of the season.

“They have pulled unknown managers out of the bag before and done really well, getting promoted when you wouldn’t have expected it.

“That’s just from the outside looking in, we don’t know what it’s really like there. I’m not sure what the Wolves fans’ thoughts were on that.

“Maybe they were happy, but sacking Rob Edwards just seemed a strange decision.

Difficult

Continuing Doyle said “Every year people say the Championship is harder this year.

“I can guarantee you, three teams came down from the Premier League when I was playing who we were saying the exact same thing about.

“I remember Crystal Palace were one of them. They came down and Andy Johnson was one of the top scorers in the Premier League, and they kept him at the club and re-signed him to a new contract. 

“I remember us all wondering how we were going to beat Crystal Palace when they kept all their players and were spending money to make sure to go straight back up. It’s no different now with teams. 

“But it soon changes. Once the season gets started, the teams that get relegated all seem to struggle because it’s tough in the Championship.

Read the full exclusive interview at OLBG, who offer the Best Betting Sites

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