Pavel, a hat-trick hero worth Craven

Fulham fans have two Russians to thank for their current west London dominance after a thoroughly enjoyable day at Craven Cottage that started with the sacking of their rival’s manager and ended with a 5-0 win over Wolves.

After victory over west London rivals Queens Park Rangers last week, courtesy of Russian export Pavel Pogrebnyak’s single goal, the Fulham faithful might have felt entitled to hold their heads slightly higher around town. That air of post-code superiority was boosted on Sunday morning when the news, that Chelsea and Russian owner Roman Abramovich had sacked their manager, Andre Villas-Boas, finally made it the two-and-a-half mile trip down the King’s Road from Stamford Bridge to Craven Cottage.

And what better way to heap extra misery on their two arch enemies and stake their claim to be the neighbourhood’s most upwardly-mobile club then to put on a footballing masterclass against Wolves. Pogrebnyak’s hat-trick, taking him to five in three games, makes him about the only Russian more ruthless than Abramovich and was complimented by a Clint Dempsey double.

In Pogrebnyak, Fulham have unearthed a prolific finisher that was going unnoticed at Stuttgart, with one goal in 18, before Martin Jol secured his services in the January window. The only negative aspect to the perfect hat-trick the new man known as ‘Pog” scored is that it could attract a major European club in the summer, who could take advantage of the fact the in-form frontman is only contracted until the end of the season.

With Pogrebnyak providing a surprise package, Wolves arrived keen to provide some shocks of their own. Centre-backs Roger Johnson, a £7m summer signing, and Sebastien Bassong, on loan from Tottenham, joined Stephen Fletcher, the club’s leading scorer, on the bench.

The biggest shock of the first-half was the length of time it took Fulham to break the deadlock. John Arne-Riise was finding acres of space on the left and he had a trio of shots inside the first 20 minutes when Wolves could not make it out of their own half.

Fulham took control on 36 minutes and once their 28-year-old new acquisition rose highest to head home a Damien Duff cross, the writing appeared on the wall for an abject Wolves.

The dismissal of Mick McCarthy and the appointment of his assistant Terry Connor appeared at first to be a bold move. Now, however, it is looking more suicidal.

The makeshift backline Wolves employed was cut open again just seconds before the break when the heir apparent to the title of Fulham’s leading man, that Bobby Zamora vacated to join QPR in January, smashed home an Andrew Johnson cross. Wolves folded. The solid core McCarthy had worked on so doggedly in the years in which he built the squad crumbled as Fulham’s fluidity made mincemeat of Wolves’ toothless midfield.

The early substitution of midfield enforcer Karl Henry gifted Mousa Dembele, Fulham’s striker turned playmaker, the chance to orchestrate his side’s play with ease before Dempsey added to his impressive record of goals this season from a midfield role.

Pogrebnyak added his third and final goal from a close-range tap in.

There was just time for Dempsey to complete his brace with a rising left-footed drive.

The win puts Fulham within touching distance of positions for Europa League qualification — a competition they reached the final of in 2010.