There is a particular kind of discomfort that settles over a football ground when a manager is jeered while his side is winning. Wolverhampton Wanderers served up exactly that on Saturday, beating Watford in a result that ought to have felt straightforward, yet leaving Molineux with a decidedly uneasy atmosphere.

The scoreline read as a Wolves victory. The mood, for a portion of the home support at least, read as something considerably less settled.

A first half that flattered to deceive

The opening 45 minutes were dominated almost entirely by Wolves. They outshot Watford by 17 efforts to none, camped comfortably in the visitors' territory, and Adam Armstrong, who had endured a lean spell in front of goal, ended that run with a tidy finish that suggested a player finding his feet again. On those numbers alone, few Championship sides could complain.

The second half was a different matter. The energy dropped, the cutting edge blunted, and when Jordan James was substituted after what BBC Radio WM's Mike Taylor described as an efficient if unspectacular performance, sections of the crowd made their feelings known to manager Cesar Peixoto. Not everyone joined in, it should be said. But enough did to make the point impossible to ignore.

The midfield question

James has become a focal point for debate around how Peixoto sets his side up. The manager's selection choices in midfield have divided opinion at Molineux. When Fer Lopez was paired alongside James, without the experienced Marshall Munetsi, Wolves produced what Taylor characterised as an anaemic display against Bolton that ended in a deserved defeat. With Munetsi in the side and Lopez taking the other central role, the balance looked sharper.

These are the granular decisions that supporters at Championship level argue over with considerable intensity. That is as it should be. The division is competitive enough that selection errors carry immediate consequences, and Wolves' fanbase is entitled to scrutinise every one of them.

Top four, but not satisfied

The detached view, as Taylor acknowledged, is that Wolves sit in the top four of the Championship despite carrying injury absentees and a relatively new manager still working out his best combinations. In the free-for-all of the second tier, that is not a bad position. The market of expectation at this club, however, has never really adjusted to life outside the top flight, and the weight of that expectation lands squarely on the dugout.

Peixoto, for his part, has not retreated into diplomatic vagueness. At his press conference last Friday, he told reporters that if he were an opposition manager, he would instruct his players to stay quiet for the first 20 minutes and let the home crowd turn. It is the sort of thing most managers probably think and very few are willing to say out loud. Taylor drew a comparison with Mick McCarthy in terms of straight talking, and it is not an unreasonable one.

Whether that candour earns goodwill or costs it depends almost entirely on results. A manager who says uncomfortable things while winning accumulates a certain credibility. A manager who says uncomfortable things while results stutter tends to find those words quoted back at him.

Patience as a currency

Peixoto's public request for patience from the Wolves support is a press-release sentiment that every manager in difficulty reaches for. Said in a room, surrounded by journalists on a quiet Friday, it carries a different weight than it does printed on a back page or shared on a supporter forum at half-time of a frustrating Saturday.

The reality is that patience in the Championship is a finite resource. Wolves are in the top four. They won on Saturday. The manager was jeered. All three of those things can be true simultaneously, and the fact that they are suggests there is more riding on the next run of results than the league table currently implies.

How Peixoto navigates the midfield dilemma, integrates his injured players back into the squad, and finds a style that convinces the sceptics inside Molineux will determine whether Saturday's odd afternoon becomes a footnote or a turning point.

Frequently asked

Why was Cesar Peixoto jeered at Molineux?
Sections of the Wolves support expressed their frustration during the win over Watford, particularly when Jordan James was substituted. The discontent centres on Peixoto's style of play and his selection decisions in midfield.
Where are Wolves in the Championship table?
According to reports following the Watford win, Wolves are in the top four of the Championship, despite carrying a number of injury absentees.
What did Peixoto say about the Wolves fans at his press conference?
Peixoto said that if he were an opposition manager, he would tell his players to stay quiet for the first 20 minutes and let the home crowd turn against his team. He also asked supporters for patience.