JUST when Wolves' season was threatening to fade into obscurity, they offered up a tantalising glimpse of what might have been.

With the play-offs now off the radar and a season of miserable underachievement drifting to its conclusion, there won't have been many fans heading into the last five matches of the season with anticipation.

And yet, when automatic promotion contenders Ipswich head into town, they are despatched with the sort of power-packed attacking display that those supporters had been expecting from last August.

Not only was there Colin Cameron's fourth-minute opener - a powerful finish via the crossbar - and Carl Cort's 22nd-minute tap-in after Cameron turned provider, there was also a host of other chances, with Kelvin Davis forced to deny Kenny Miller, Seol and Seyi Olofinjana.

Jody Craddock was also inches away from getting his toe on a Lee Naylor cross as Wolves, with Cameron, Olofinjana and Paul Ince combining superbly in midfield, making a mockery of the league table.

Ipswich did have their moments, not least when Ian Westlake and Shefi Kuqi rattled the woodwork in the first half.

But other than that there was just the odd goalmouth scramble to worry a meanlooking Wolves defence.

Ince brought Davis into action again 10 minutes from time and the keeper made another fantastic save to deny Seol.

Ipswich bore all the hallmarks of a team carrying the burden of long-term promotion candidates on their weary shoulders.

In contrast, Hoddle's men looked for all the world like a team performing without the shackles of expectation.

There was offered genuine hope that this group of players, should they stay together, could become the real deal.

This was a snapshot of what Hoddle's Wolves are actually trying to become, but of course the perplexing question remains as to whether the current man at the helm will still be there when the whole thing begins again.

Perhaps only when that matter is sorted out once and for all will those longsuffering Wolves fans know whether last night was not just a glimpse of what might have been, but also of what might be to come.

WOLVES (4-2-1-3): Oakes 7; Edwards 6, Craddock 8, Lescott 8, * NAYLOR 9; Ince 8, Olofinjana 8; Cameron 8; Seol 8, Cort 7 (Clarke 45, 6), Miller 7. Not used: Kennedy, Bischoff, Ricketts, Cooper IPSWICH (3-5-2 ): Davis; R. Naylor, De Vos, Unsworth; Wilnis, Westlake (Counago 75), T. Miller, Magilton, Richards (Currie 45); Kuqi (Scowcroft 45), Bent. Not used: Price, Horlock