The problem with using this fixture as any sort of progress barometer is that we always lose at Bolton.

It’s now been over 20 years since we last traveled north and returned with a win. Graham Taylor was in charge then and they were ground sharing with a supermarket.

Since the facilities were upgraded, it’s been an impregnable fortress and a constant stream of misery.

But putting the Reebock/Macron hoodoo to one side, Wolves were their own worst enemy yesterday.

In a season that’s fast becoming Groundhog Day, history repeated itself once more:

Horrific mistakes at the back, desperately scramble to rescue the points.

We’ve now fallen behind in four of our six Championship games courtesy of a calamitous individual aberration.

Yesterday it was Kortney Hause flicking on a long punt down the pitch to assist the opener, before Ethan Ebanks-Landell scythed down their attacker to surrender a second.

Kenny Jackett was no doubt hoping for a solid rearguard action to extinguish the lingering suspicion that allowing Richard Stearman to leave was the gaffe of the season. He’ll be sorely disappointed.

All evidence suggests we need to be adding guile, experience and leadership to that back four in spades, not voluntarily giving it away, if there’s to be any hope of a play-off challenge.

Danny Batth put in an hour long shift for the U21s yesterday and his return to the fold can’t come soon enough.

And what of Kevin McDonald?

Jackett confirmed afterwards the Scot simply wasn’t selected, which suggests even more turmoil behind the scenes.

His absence, combined with the season ending injury to Dicko, the sale of Stearman and the summer loss of Sako begs one worrying question:

Is this Wolves team actually any better than the side that got us promoted from League One? Is it even as good?

No on both counts for me.

And although I accept some of those losses in personnel were unavoidable, others were not.

We’ve lost the spine of what was a very good Championship side and now the manager is shifting the pieces around the board trying to rediscover a winning formula.

Six games in and this already looks like a season of transition when we were supposed to be challenging at the summit.

Oh well.

Plus points included a more convincing display from Martinez with a string of fine saves to keep the game competitive.

Chances were also created and the Bolton keeper was kept equally busy on an afternoon where both sides could have scored plenty more.

But we lost again and to a team who hadn’t previously beaten anyone, even though history suggested they would always beat us.

Fortunately, it’s table topping Brighton next weekend and we always get the better of them.