Wolves under-21s boss pleased with progress

The academy side finished 10th in Premier League 2, but fell at the round of 16 stage of the play-offs on Monday.

Nathan Fraser gave Wolves the lead before the hosts rallied with three goals of their own.

Ty Barnett was then sent off for Wolves and Sunderland added a fourth to round-off their victory.

Asked if he’s pleased with the season as a whole, Collins said: “I think we have to be.

“We’re obviously disappointed (with the defeat to Sunderland) because we would’ve had West Ham at Molineux and we would’ve been looking forward to that.

“But, we finished in the top 10 of the league with 26 teams, made ourselves qualify for the International Cup next season which is really important.

“It’s difficult for all under-21 groups because you have a different team every week, sometimes you’re not working with them every day – you get different numbers every day due to them supporting the first-team.

“It’s hard to judge the group but to finish in the top 10, qualify for the International Cup second round and qualify for next season’s International Cup has to be seen as a successful season.

“It’s disappointing because I really enjoyed the game. I thought it was a really competitive high-standard game but then the last 20 minutes it becomes a farce and a mess.

“That leaves a sour taste but if we look at it with realism and properly, I think we’ll see there were some really good performances for an hour.

“You don’t win football matches in an hour. You have to play 95 minutes.”

Enso Gonzalez and Noha Lemina both played a half of football each on their return from injury, while Tawanda Chirewa played 90 minutes.

Collins added: “We’ve got to learn that they looked more of a team than us. We’ve got some really good individuals who are trying to progress themselves, improve and be ambitious.

“To have success at football, you’ve got to buy into the collective and team. I thought they did that a little bit better than us when the game was tight and messy at 1-1, 2-1.

“I didn’t think they had better individuals and I didn’t think there was a lot in the game. I certainly didn’t think it was a 4-1 game, but it doesn’t surprise me that the team who played for the team came out on top.

“We were a team who did it for 60 minutes but then went a little bit individual after that.”