After Saturday's defeat at Crystal Palace we have a chance to bounce straight back tonight.

But it won't be easy and the game against Wolves represents probably our biggest match of the season so far.

Wolves, who are in second, are three points ahead of us and it will be vital that we get something from the game if we are to maintain pressure on the leaders, Burnley.

We had a light training session yesterday but our boss Kevin Keegan didn't really speak about our opponents.

Even though former City player Mark Kennedy will be returning to Maine Road with Wolves, he made no mention of him.

I actually think that is the right way to go about things.

It is about you and your team and not about individuals on the opposition. It is how well you play that dictates how good or bad they are.

Personally I think it could be a fast and fiery game with the possibility of a few people's tempers coming to the fore.

If that is the case, it is important we retain our composure and stay in control.

Our fans will definitely be up for it, but it is important that we don't get caught up in that.

We have to stick to our game plan because if we do I think we will be too much for them.

If we get hostile and allow the hype of the crowd to get to us, forget what we have been told and just kick the ball from back to front and bypass the midfield then I think we will be playing into their hands.

It will be a high tempo game and we need to use players like Eyal Berkovic and Ali Bernabia, creative players who can open up defences. If we do that then we will be playing to our strengths.

As I said, I suffered my first loss as captain on Saturday, my second-half goal not being enough to prevent us from a 2-1 defeat against Palace.

The match actually kicked off 15 minutes late because of crowd congestion but we cannot use that as an excuse.

We tried to turn the delay into a positive. Instead of worrying about the game being delayed and the reasons behind it we tried to use the time to make sure we were even more prepared.

When we did get started we had a number of chances to go ahead of which two fell to me.

They were not the kind of opportunities that you would regard as sitters, they were more attempts on goal that we made the most of but a defender got in the way or the 'keeper pulled off a good save.

It was a game we dominated but they scored twice before half-time and that made things very difficult for us.

I pulled a goal back after 68 minutes. Shaun Wright-Phillips drove the ball across the 'keeper who managed to get a hand to it but I was following in and was able to tap it in.

After that we thought we would go on to get another goal or even a winner, but in reality we gave ourselves too much to do.

The third round draw for the FA Cup was made at the weekend and we were drawn against Swindon.

I don't normally watch the draw on TV as I generally read it next day in the paper but I did see it this time and all I was thinking was goals. It was a home draw against a Second Division side and that was all I could think.

But football isn't as straightforward as that and so I'm just hoping we have a full strength side out and the gaffer doesn't decide to rest me!