It's not unfair to say that Wolverhampton Wanderers are in need of a result when they take on Hull City at Molineux tonight.

It's now over three weeks since Wolves last won, a one-man rescue act from Freddy Eastwood helping to turn around an otherwise bad day against Blackpool.

On their last appearance at Molineux just three nights later, Wolves were embarrassed by the lesser known of Lancashire's two main summer holiday destinations, Morecambe.

Then came a grim 0-0 draw at Stoke City and, despite the risk of leaving out Eastwood, one of his four international jetsetters at Bramall Lane on Saturday, manager Mick McCarthy was rewarded when his replacement, Stephen Elliott, came in and produced as sharp a piece of poaching as anything Wolves' top scorer could have managed.

The defensive errors then took over as Sheffield United came from behind to win 3-1 and now comes the dilemma of whether to recall Eastwood tonight against Phil Brown's Tigers.

McCarthy's decision will be an interesting litmus test of last term's immense popularity with the Wolverhampton fans. Already this season, he has upset them by allowing one of their favourites, last season's skipper Jody Craddock, to move on loan to Stoke City.

Craddock is not expected to come back, already a decision not made to seem any more far-sighted when Wolves shipped three such sloppy second-half goals at Bramall Lane on Saturday.

But he faces an even bigger poser tonight; whether to persist with Elliott after his first goal for the club or bring back Eastwood, already a hero and perhaps suffering from being the latest emerging Wolves striker to be compared with Steve Bull.

The only clue McCarthy gives as to his team selection tonight is that he was, in the main, pleased by Saturday's performance.

"I'm not happy that we've now dropped six points to Watford and Sheffield United," he said. "I'm angry that we've let those two sides beat us when in reality they shouldn't have done, because neither have been better than us.

"They didn't make mistakes. That was the difference. I take no heart from the fact we've matched them both. I just feel totally annoyed that we've allowed two Premiership sides to steal a march on us.

"People who saw Saturday's result in the paper will think we've been spanked and anyone who was there will know that wasn't the case but we won't fester on it too long and I always think it's the level of performance that helps you bounce back."

It's not certain to get any easier tonight, even though Hull are just four places off the bottom of the table after averaging just a point from their first five games.

In their four trips away from the KC Stadium, Hull have hammered Crewe in the Carling Cup before upsetting Wigan Athletic in the next round, drawn at Coventry City and gone down only in the last minute at Blackpool.

Added to which they have Dean Windass, a very old thorn in Wolves' side, as well as Jay-Jay Okocha, a comparative spring chicken at 34 compared to 38-year-old Windass, who is in line to make his first start.

Meanwhile, Wolves old boy Tony Daley has returned to the club to take over as fitness coach, replacing the Reading-bound Kunle Odetoyinbo.