Jez Moxey blames Wolves' players for slump

The Molineux chief executive, one of the targets for criticism in the wake of a disastrous year for the club, is adamant the Wolves squad is guilty of a major under-performance in its slump to the Championship's drop zone.

With anger and unrest growing within the Wolves fanbase, those players face a critical return home to face Leeds on Saturday.

They are just two points above the survival line and still looking to give new boss Dean Saunders his first win.

But Moxey backed Saunders' decision to defer any renewed investment in the team during the transfer window adamant that Wolves already possess more than enough to escape their plight.

"The fans don't think we've spent enough, I know that," he said. "But we will have the second or third highest wage bill in the Championship.

"The simple fact is the squad we have got should not be in 21st place with 16 games left.

"We're having this unrest because we are losing matches and they are matches we believe we shouldn't be losing.

"We sit down at our meetings and look at the falling attendances, the drop-off in revenue, the falling sponsorship and we all ask ourselves 'What can we do to stop this?'

"But we never mention the massive elephant in the room – and that is that we're not winning any games.

"The players need to step up and say to themselves that they're going to give something back now to this fantastic club and its supporters, a club that has paid them so well, and do something about this position.

"If they do that, this season will be undeniably disappointing but one which we can be put to bed in the summer and we go from there."

Moxey was in defiant mood as he answered questions about the controversial decision not to add to Wolves' squad during the window while, at the same time, cutting loose three senior players and allowing Richard Stearman to go to Ipswich on loan.

The club's first officer also dismissed as "ridiculous" message board-led rumours about chairman Steve Morgan's business dealings with his firm Redrow impacting on Wolves.

"Redrow has no bearing on Wolves. The chairman is the same man. That's it. There is no financial inter-dependancy," he said. "This is just nonsense."