Kenny Jackett hopeful of Richard Stearman stay

Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Kenny Jackett has indicated that the club will open contract talks with defender Richard Stearman at the end of the season.

Stearman's current deal at Molineux expires in the summer, but after making 39 appearances for Wolves this campaign, Jackett is hopeful that the 26-year-old will decide to remain at the club.

The 52-year-old told the Birmingham Mail: "We like Richard Stearman and I've picked him pretty much all season, mainly as a centre-back, all apart from the 2-1 win at Bradford when he played right-back.

"I've picked him at centre-back where he's enjoyed a really good partnership with Danny Batth and I see him as having a good future here.

"It's not something that we're going to talk about right now in terms of contracts but I don't select someone that many times and work as hard as we have defensively to get such a good goals against record to then release him. We're very pleased with him and I'm sure that talks will go well."

Wolves require four points from their final five fixtures to secure an immediate return to the Championship.