Wolverhampton Wanderers' season is badly in need of a turning point after six matches without-a win and manager Glenn Hoddle is hoping that Colin Cameron's late equaliser at Brighton on Tuesday night will prove to be just that, writes Ged Scott.
Hoddle's constant battle cry during the last month has been that Wolves' poor results have not been in line with their general form. That was true at Watford on Saturday when they outplayed the home side, missed their chances and lost 3-1.
But it is hard to imagine any side of Hoddle's looking as imbalanced and ineffective as they did in the first half at the Withdean Stadium.
It took the second-half arrival of Cameron (right) and Seol to turn things round, two substitutions Hoddle took all the credit for, with his almost horticultural sense of when to pick a player.
"It's my job to pick players when they are ripe," he said. "Seol played really positively and 'Cams' got us the goal. We needed more energy in midfield, I asked them to go on and affect the game in a positive way and they took us to another level."
Hoddle also said that what Wolves most needed was the lucky break they finally got with the goal, Cameron belting in the rebound after Vio Ganea had been denied by Brighton's on-loan Aston Villa goalkeeper Wayne Henderson and the woodwork. He said: "That goal summed up the way things have been going but this time we put it away and maybe that's going to be a turning point for us."
While Wolves were missing nine players through injury on Tuesday night, Hoddle does not know whether first-choice goalkeeper Michael Oakes will play against Norwich City on Saturday. Oakes' ankle is heavily bruised after it was stamped on by Watford defender Clarke Carlisle.
The on-loan Stefan Postma, who made several good saves to counter balance his error for the Brighton goal, may be forced to continue.
Despite having Matt Murray on the bench at Brighton, Hoddle says the injury-plagued former England Under-21 keeper must not be rushed. "If Matt Murray had been called into action it would have been too early," he said. "He's not ready for a first-team game."
