The top flight seems a long way off for both club and captain.
Wolves captain Danny Batth has told the Express and Star that it is his dream to lead the club into the Premier League – but his form this season proves he’s a long way off the top tier.
The 26-year-old has been a virtual ever present for Wolves under both Paul Lambert and Walter Zenga, with the club’s aims of a promotion push quickly descending into a farce after an alarming run of form left them on the verge of the relegation zone.
However, Saturday’s 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest has put some welcome distance between the Midlands outfit and the bottom three, with Batth showing signs of getting back to his best in recent weeks.
The skipper was exemplary in the hard-fought victory at the City Ground, kept Preston North End goalless at Deepdale and, without his fine performance in Wolves’ dismal loss at Cardiff City, the 2-1 scoreline could have rather heavier.
On the whole, 2016/17 has proved something of a reality check for the club’s Chinese conglomerate owners, Fosun International, who were hardly subtle about their desire to guide the club into the Premier League.
Nonetheless, Batth is desperate to be around if the side ever achieves the feat after making his 250th professional appearance with three points at Forest.
“It feels like 500! No I’m joking, it’s a nice achievement for myself and my family. Hopefully I’ve got many more to come and for Wolves,” Batth told the Express and Star.
“I want to crack on and make sure the next 250 are more successful. Taking Wolves to the Premier League is my goal.”
Despite his mini-resurgence, the majority of Wolves fans may well scoff at the idea of Danny Batth playing Premier League football at any time in the near future.
The long-serving centre-half has been targeted by the boo-boys on occasions this season although the error-strewn performances of young duo Kortney Hause and Dominic Iorfa have copped most of the criticism from pundits and Lambert himself.
A quick scour of many a fans forum usually presents two distinct arguments; either the nature of Batth’s displays this season have more than warranted audible displeasure from the stands and that he should be stripped of the captaincy or, on the flipside, he is merely just an average defender in an average squad.
While the likes of Jose Fonte have proven that a progression from League One to the Premier League can be made with minimal fuss, if Wolves are serious about their promotion ambitions then it seems they’ll need a better player than Batth to lead them there.
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