Paul Lambert: Aleksandar Mitrovic should have been sent off!

Mitrovic netted the only goal of the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers last night.

And the 1-0 win saw the club return to the top of the Championship.

But Wolves manager Lambert was angered by Mitrovic's high challenge on goalkeeper Carl Ikeme earlier in the half which left both players needing treatment.

Mitrovic, already on a yellow card, was not punished by referee Craig Pawson for the tackle.

"It’s the referee’s decision (on Mitrovic). “But I’ve been a player not so long ago, and if you are on a yellow card, and you raise your studs, then you run the risk.

“Carl’s actually lucky that there isn’t more damage to his Achilles.

“If the referee can’t see it, then his assistant has to, and missing that is a big moment. There are always big moments in games and big decisions, and we never got the break today.

“But I can’t fault the lads for the way they are playing."

Mitrovic netted in the 44th minute, and Wolves struggled to create chances after the break.

“We should have worked the goalkeeper more with the amount of the ball that we had," said Lambert.

“We got into really good areas to deliver but there were times when we hit the first man or the ball just wasn’t breaking for us.

“It was difficult to break them down, but I still think we are playing really well.

“I thought at the start of the season Newcastle were going to get out of the league, and I still do.

“But we have shown we are certainly not a million miles away, and I think it is a compliment to us that they defended really deep.

“With the way we are playing, we have come a long way, and I expect us to be giving teams like Newcastle a tough game and I expect us to be winning games.

“We need to be consistent and credit to Newcastle. They have been really consistent and that is why they are up there.”