When support is far from it......

ANYONE would have thought it was Joan Collins - and not Neill Collins - coming on at Molineux on Tuesday night such was the nature of the welcome.

After all, Dynasty's Alexis Carrington was always a pretty nasty piece of work.

But what was Wolves defender Collins' heinous crime to receive the bird from his own supporters just two minutes from the end of an otherwise joyous 3-0 win?

Probably like most others who have already fallen victim to the over-demanding Molineux boo-boys this season.

Just to dare suffer a slight dip in form over the course of a challenging and gruelling Championship season.

Collins has made 42 appearances already thus far.

Several of those have also been out of position at right back.

Some of his performances have been excellent, some good, some not so good.

That's football, infact - that's life.

Collins himself would probably not profess to be a Rio Ferdinand or Alan Hansen, effortlessly making crucial interceptions and bringing the ball out of defence before delivering an inch-perfect pass.

In the words of Mick McCarthy, the lively Scot is more of a "does what it says on the tin" defender.

He'll head it, kick it, tackle it, do whatever it takes to try and keep the opposition at bay.

Admittedly this has been something of an up-and-down season for Collins.

Four crucial goals - all of them winners - but he has also conceded four penalties.

Anyway, all that is just scene-setting.

What you are guaranteed from Collins, week-in, week-out, is 100 per cent effort, commitment and honesty.

A player, from fairly humble roots, who both recognises and relishes the career he is pursuing, and rides with the emotions both good and bad.

And certainly not someone who deserved the sort of treatment dished out by sections of a fanbase who are fast becoming Wolves' most troublesome achilles heel.

Collins is not the first, and won't be the last.

Already this season the rumblings have piped up for the likes of Jay Bothroyd, Stephen Elliott, Andy Keogh and Karl Henry, and the now famed Jody Craddock song is a prime example of how the Molineux faithful can sometimes get things spectacularly wrong.

Even within earshot of the press box on Tuesday night, and with Wolves 3-0 to the good and coasting, any misplaced pass or failure to win a header was greeted with the sort of vitriol associated with a team on their way to a good hiding.

Just what has happened to the Wolves support? Where has that refreshing and so influential backing from last season evaporated to? Should increased expectation be an immediate precursor to booing players who are having a rough time?

Of course there are justifications for the odd moan or groan this season.

At times the football hasn't been particularly riveting, and the current league position is probably below where Wolves - including McCarthy and his players - would have imagined themselves to be.

But in what possible way does booing actually improve things on both those scores?

What good does it do to Collins and company? Does it inspire them to greater heights? Help them relax and play their best football? Have they actually not been trying and so those boos just click them back into gear?

Of course not.

Anyone tuning into Radio WM's phone-in after Tuesday's game would have thought Wolves were certainties for relegation rather than just having kept their play-off hopes alive.

From speaking to various supporters situated in all parts of Molineux there is plenty of debate between supporters themselves over the current situation.

Indeed I have heard from several long-term supporters, home and away, who have become fed up of the moaning to such an extent that they are questioning whether following their beloved team is actually worth the aggravation.

And that's not only dangerous, but also very sad.

It all brings back memories of the "Stick" quote from chairman Steve Morgan last time he faced the media.

"It's like getting a bunch of sticks," Wolves' owner/chairman said of the club's support in February.

"Separate them, and individually, you can snap them, it's easy.

"Put them together and it's unbreakable.

"And that's what we want Wolves to be - unbreakable, unbeatable - and if we all pull together, that's what we can be."

If the sort of "stick" dished out to Collins continues to prove the Molineux norm rather than the exception, then the sort of electric support which Wolves fans have the potential to deliver, could actually end up being the club's biggest weakness.