Denis Irwin credited with influencing Wolves

WOLVES manager Dave Jones leads his side into the Division One play-off final against Sheffield United today unburdened by the weight of history at Molineux.

Wolves chairman and president Sir Jack Hayward as well as their fanatical fan base demand Premiership football.

But in the run-up to today's Millennium Stadium clash, Jones was playing down the level of expectation heaped upon his shoulders. "It's a fantastic history at this club," said Jones. "And if I become part of that, then that's great because nothing would give me more pleasure. It would be great to be among the names and all the photographs you see on the walls at the stadium. But there's a place for the history of the football club. Everyone tells me I've got to do it for the fans, I've got to do it for Sir Jack, I've got to do it for this, I've got to do it for that. But I want to do it for myself first and foremost."

Wolves' lust for top-flight football was intensified by their near miss last season. Dragged into the play-off scramble, Wolves were then knocked out by semi-final opposition Norwich. But now Jones has revealed how he had tried and failed to sign midfielder Paul Ince and defender Denis Irwin ahead of transfer deadline day last season. Jones eventually got his men on free transfers during the summer and has since credited them with having a major influence on the current promotion push.

But he admitted it has been difficult not to reflect on what might have been 12 months previously had he been able to call on the services of the former Old Trafford pair. Jones said: "I did try to get them at the back end of last season, before the deadline, but Denis was involved in competitions with Manchester United and they wouldn't let him go. And Incey was in the first team at Middlesbrough and they wouldn't let him out either.

"You can look back and wonder about what might have been last season but there's a lot of ifs and buts in football and the fact is we'll never ever know if they would've made a difference."

Meanwhile, Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock believes his side would not be in the play-off but for the collapse of ITV Digital.

United have been a revelation this season, taking third spot in Division One to add to their glorious runs to the semi-finals of the FA and Worthington cup competitions.

But Warnock genuinely feels, despite his own man-management skills and tactical nous, the scandal which surrounded the ignominious demise of the broadcast company has underpinned the club's success. The money which would have allowed other managers to strengthen their squads or pay their top players wages, and which many clubs had already budgeted for, was suddenly no longer available.

That still does not stop Warnock from casting an envious glance in the direction of Wolves boss Dave Jones, who has been aided in his quest for promotion by the financial muscle of multi-millionaire chairman Sir Jack Hayward. The Bahamas-based Hayward has pumped in £60m of his own personal fortune into Wolves since taking over at Molineux 13 years ago, often backing his managers heavily in the transfer market. Warnockstill has the utmost respect for what Jones has achieved at Wolves, particularly this season following the anguish suffered in missing out a year ago.