Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy starts 2010 with a determination that his team can spend the second half of the season outside the relegation places. Everyone at the club is aware that whilst 15^th place is currently good enough, a lot can happen in the second half of the season - just ask Newcastle and Middlesbrough.

The priority is clearly to strengthen the squad although room must be made to accommodate new faces. This began with the departure of Darren Ward who has completed his move to Millwall after settling his contract with Wanderers whilst Jason Shakell has opted to remain at Doncaster Rovers for a further loan period until the end of the 2009/10 season.

New signings are expected with Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner and Sheffield United’s highly rated centre back Matthew Kilgallon both linked with moves to Molineux. However, Wolves claim to have a lengthy list of potential targets and no bids have yet been lodged.

Wolves Cameroon defender  is confident that the form shown by the team will reap rewards despite some recent reverses. Their run of three wins from four was halted by defeats against Liverpool and Manchester City but the 23 year-old remains optimistic. “We’ve played well in games and ended up coming away with nothing. It seems to have been like that for a lot of the season,” said Elokobi “If we carry on playing like this I think we can definitely get enough points to stay in this league.”