Adama Traore decision is costing Wolves but Man Utd & West Ham 'mentality' is helping

It was a familiar story for Wolverhampton Wanderers at Turf Moor as they slipped up again to hand their rivals the initiative in the race for Europe.

Wolves could have piled the pressure on those above them with victory over Burnley, but Matej Vydra’s 62nd minute strike boosted the Clarets’ survival hopes and heaped more misery on Wolves. Aside from efforts from wing-backs Jonny Castro Otto and Nelson Semedo, Wolves created very little in Lancashire and were deservedly beaten.

Wolves have now lost six of their last nine Premier League matches and sit three points off seventh place with five games remaining. Failure to beat Brighton next week will surely end Wolves’ European dream once and for all.

Earlier this season Bruno Lage insisted that ‘90 percent of our work is in the offensive way’ - yet only four Premier League teams have scored fewer goals than Wolves. Wolves were also the fifth lowest scorers in the league last season, so Lage is right to suggest it is a problem he has inherited instead of created.

The only attacking player in Wolves’ current squad who can honestly say they have been anywhere near their consistent best this season is Daniel Podence. Raul Jimenez has had moments, while Pedro Neto can be excused having just returned from injury.

Podence is the only member of Wolves’ six forwards who has delivered - and even his four goals and three assists in all competitions leaves a lot to be desired. All of the teams above Wolves have scored at least 19 more goals than Lage’s team.

Some will point to wasteful finishing, or bad decision-making as we saw in the first half at Burnley. But the fact of the matter is Wolves’ attack has become predictable and stale since the trident of Adama Traore, Jimenez and