Wanderers get back into action on Saturday after the third international break of the season bidding to extend an unbeaten Championship run to eight games at Watford.
The shoots of revival have grown and Dougie Freedman’s side have recovered from the club’s worst league start in more than a century.
And after back-to-back league victories for the first time since early April, the manager will hope the latest break from action will not affect the momentum his team is building going into a busy December.
The current run of seven league matches without defeat is the best since an eight-game stretch in February and March that saw Wanderers win six and draw just two to climb to the verges of the play-off picture.
Freedman also oversaw a spell without losing in his first six matches in the dugout a year ago – both runs ended by Ipswich Town.
Neither run can compare to the club record unbeaten stretch of 23 games in the 1990/91 season in Divison Three under Phil Neal’s stewardship.
The current run is, however, the best in the first half of a league season for 14 years.
Wanderers have gone seven matches unbeaten before Christmas on three occasions in the last decade – in 2006/7 in September and October and twice in quick succession in the previous campaign.
But both of those runs included cup matches – the 2005/6 season featuring UEFA Cup ties against Lokomotiv Plovdiv (twice), Besiktas, Zenit St Petersburg and Vitoria Guimaraes The following season, the Whites won six and drew one in a seven-game unbeaten streak but one of those was a 3-1 away Carling Cup triumph at Walsall, the other six being in the Premiership.
The last time they went seven league matches unbeaten prior to Christmas also came in the second tier in the 1999-2000 campaign.
It started with a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on October 27, before four consecutive victories against Swindon, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Grimsby – three of those by the same 2-0 scoreline on home turf and a 2-1 victory at Bramall Lane.
Draws at Fulham and Portsmouth made it seven matches without defeat and a home League cup win against Sheffield Wednesday made it eight in all competitions.
A 3-2 home defeat to Tranmere on December 4 ended the run.
Wanderers would not taste defeat too many more times that campaign as they earned a play-off spot but fell at the penultimate hurdle against Ipswich.
The season before, they also enjoyed a fine early run when Colin Todd’s side began the campaign with a 15-match unbeaten start in league and cup.
Todd’s Whites won nine of those games and were not on the losing side in Division One until defeat to Watford on October 20, going down 2-1 at the Reebok Stadium.
The Hornets would come back and sting them again in May when they beat Wanderers 2-0 in the play-off final at Wembley to earn promotion to the top flight.
Freedman will be hoping the Vicarage Road men are not a bogey team again at the weekend.
The shoots of revival have grown and Dougie Freedman’s side have recovered from the club’s worst league start in more than a century.
And after back-to-back league victories for the first time since early April, the manager will hope the latest break from action will not affect the momentum his team is building going into a busy December.
The current run of seven league matches without defeat is the best since an eight-game stretch in February and March that saw Wanderers win six and draw just two to climb to the verges of the play-off picture.
Freedman also oversaw a spell without losing in his first six matches in the dugout a year ago – both runs ended by Ipswich Town.
Neither run can compare to the club record unbeaten stretch of 23 games in the 1990/91 season in Divison Three under Phil Neal’s stewardship.
The current run is, however, the best in the first half of a league season for 14 years.
Wanderers have gone seven matches unbeaten before Christmas on three occasions in the last decade – in 2006/7 in September and October and twice in quick succession in the previous campaign.
But both of those runs included cup matches – the 2005/6 season featuring UEFA Cup ties against Lokomotiv Plovdiv (twice), Besiktas, Zenit St Petersburg and Vitoria Guimaraes The following season, the Whites won six and drew one in a seven-game unbeaten streak but one of those was a 3-1 away Carling Cup triumph at Walsall, the other six being in the Premiership.
The last time they went seven league matches unbeaten prior to Christmas also came in the second tier in the 1999-2000 campaign.
It started with a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on October 27, before four consecutive victories against Swindon, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Grimsby – three of those by the same 2-0 scoreline on home turf and a 2-1 victory at Bramall Lane.
Draws at Fulham and Portsmouth made it seven matches without defeat and a home League cup win against Sheffield Wednesday made it eight in all competitions.
A 3-2 home defeat to Tranmere on December 4 ended the run.
Wanderers would not taste defeat too many more times that campaign as they earned a play-off spot but fell at the penultimate hurdle against Ipswich.
The season before, they also enjoyed a fine early run when Colin Todd’s side began the campaign with a 15-match unbeaten start in league and cup.
Todd’s Whites won nine of those games and were not on the losing side in Division One until defeat to Watford on October 20, going down 2-1 at the Reebok Stadium.
The Hornets would come back and sting them again in May when they beat Wanderers 2-0 in the play-off final at Wembley to earn promotion to the top flight.
Freedman will be hoping the Vicarage Road men are not a bogey team again at the weekend.
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