Delap issues Pulis plea

NOBODY understands the lure of Southampton more than Rory Delap, but the Stoke midfielder is desperate for manager Tony Pulis to resist the overtures from St Mary’s and lead City to promotion.

Pulis has been attracting covetous glances from Hampshire since George Burley quit to take over the Scotland national team last month, hardly surprising given the way he has transformed Stoke from relegation battlers into a team which harbours serious Premier League ambitions.

This emphatic win over Wolves would have impressed any potential suitors but former Republic of Ireland international Delap does not want to see his manager poached by his former club.

“Managers are the same as players and they all want to improve, sometimes that means going to other clubs,” he said. “We all want to do as well as we can, you want to get as high as possible in the game.

“But I don’t think the manager would want to walk away from here at the moment. The club has a special place for him.

“You could see how much missing out on promotion last season hurt him and he is committed to going one better this season and taking the club up.

“The best way of keeping him is to win promotion, but it’s inevitable any manager who’s doing well is going to get linked with clubs.

“If we can keep this group of players together, add to it, and keep the manager then it would be great. It’s up to us to provide something to keep him here.”

Delap gave Stoke a fourth-minute lead when he headed in Mamady Sidibe’s cross.

Rob Edwards levelled from close range on the stroke of half-time and Stoke were again caught napping two minutes after the break when Republic of Ireland striker Andy Keogh put Wolves 2-1 up. But the match was turned on its head when Liam Lawrence first fired past Wayne Hennessey before Leon Cort restored Stoke’s lead.

Substitute Ricardo Fuller rubbed salt into Wolves’ wounds by adding a fourth goal in stoppage time.

A chorus of jeers rang out at the final whistle and Edwards conceded the fans were right to show their disgust.

He added: “The only silver lining is that we are still with a chance of making the play-offs we have to make sure we go on and get some results.

“There is high expectation when we are playing at home and rightly so. The fans know that and they will voice their opinions.

“At the moment we are not putting in the results consistently enough.”

WOLVES (4-4-2): Hennessey 6, Foley 7, Ward 5, R Edwards 6, Gray 6, Keogh 7, (Eastwood 81, 5) 6, D Edwards 6, (Elliott 90, 5), Henry 7, Jarvis 7, Ebanks-Blake 6, Kyle 6.

Subs Not Used: Potter, Stack, Elokobi,

STOKE (4-4-2): Simonsen 7, Zakuani 6, Shawcross 6, Cort 8, Pugh 6, Lawrence 7 (Dickinson 90, 5), Diao 6, Whelan 6, Delap 7, Sidibe 7, Gallagher 5 (Fuller 62, 5).

Subs Not Used: Pericard, Buxton, Hoult,

REFEREE: Andre Marriner, (Birmingham) 6: The referee incurred the wrath of Mick McCarthy after the final whistle for failing to award Wolves a penalty in stoppage time. However, his decision making was accurate and he kept the game flowing.

MATCH RATING: *****

This match was a thrilling spectacle from the start to the final whistle. Both teams have high aspirations but while Stoke continue their fight for promotion, Wolves are coming dangerously close to another season of mid-table mediocrity.