Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has explained holding back Tommy Doyle over the past month.

Despite an impressive Christmas programme, Doyle has been benched in recent games.

"It was an incredibly tough chat with Tommy," O'Neil said.

"To leave somebody out who has performed that well is never an easy conversation to have.

"The way Tommy is, he's a great guy and has been unbelievable around the place for the culture and what we're trying to set here. The way he is every day is really refreshing.

"It took him a long time to force his way in and there was never any disappointment shown, he was always ready to work with a smile.

"Previously, it was regularly Joao and Mario and Tommy was considered behind them. The way he has performed has closed that gap massively and I now have a really tough decision to make around which two it is or whether we try to get all three in.

"That's credit to Tommy, because Mario and Joao have performed at such a high level. For Tommy to have put as much pressure on them as he has, is a real credit to him.

"It's never nice to leave someone out, especially one that has done so well, is such a good guy and works so hard, but he took it extremely well."