The importance of Jonathan Hogg underlined

It was initially difficult to comprehend how Town could go from such a disciplined defensive display, not to mention with 10 men, at Millwall to a return of the sort of charitable defending which has proven this side's Achilles heel all season long.

Wolves' attacking quality should not be overlooked, their piercing counter-attacking style would cause problems for the majority of defences in the Championship, but Town needed to be more street-smart here to keep them out.

They set up in a bold-looking 4-4-2 against a side built on steady defensive foundations, two composed midfield screeners and a front four whose interchangeable movement and speed in the transition proved dizzying for Powell's back four.

It was an attack-minded gamble from Powell which failed to come off, but his hopes of doing just that may have been significantly aided had he been able to call upon a defensive shield of his own in Jonathan Hogg here.

Town were crying out for someone in his mould to sit deep and connect the backline to the midfield, where the gaps were alarming at times, as well as snuffing out the visitors' incisive passing and clever layoffs to find space between the lines, something neither Conor Coady or Jacob Butterfield managed to achieve and the return of the third part of the midfield trident can't come soon enough.

Patience required with Ishmael Miller

His full debut became something of a non-event given the scoreline and his peripheral role in the game here, as he struggled to get the better of a seasoned central defensive pairing in Richard Stearman and Danny Batth.

But there was certainly enough early promise to show that Miller has plenty to offer to this Town side as he showed examples of the physicality, turn of pace and awareness of others that prompted Powell to seal a deadline-day switch for the former Blackpool striker.

The 27-year-old would have presumably been fairly keen on the prospect of scoring against former club West Bromwich Albion's Black Country enemies and he troubled Stearman early on by latching onto one lofted ball and forcing the Wolves stalwart into a hurried clearance.

His most telling contribution came just moments later as he steamed ahead down the left and fended off the attentions of Matt Doherty before sending in a sumptuous cross which begged for a finish from Sean Scannell, but he could not quite climb high enough.

There were understandable signs of rustiness thereafter and his lack of fitness is understandable given his stop-start time at Blackpool since the summer and it soon became clear that he will need time to make his mark and earn the possibility of an extension to his contract come the summer.

James Vaughan slowly but surely finding his form once more

Town's No.9 admitted in the build-up to this contest that he was yet to reach his optimum level since returning to the first team from injury but a fourth goal in nine games since returning from a calf problem represents a fair enough return.

And he looks increasingly sharper too, with a series of firm challenges against a sturdy Wolves backline reinforcing the fact that Vaughan is a fighter and he has had to be to get over his injury ills.

If he still isn't quite up to scratch, then the manner in which he dispatched his goal - albeit a mere consolation strike - should have Town fans salivating at the prospect of what is to come.

It is difficult to definitively call how Powell envisages his strikeforce lining up once everyone is fully fit and firing, but if Vaughan is able to recapture some of his previous heights, he provides a host of qualities for the likes of Nahki Wells and Miller to thrive off.

Two of his four goals this season have come in his last two games and he has oozed confidence when netting both, so this was a rare plus point to take on a disappointing night.

Could Joe Lolley's time finally be coming?

The introduction of Town's precocious young talent after 68 minutes felt like something of a shift on Powell's part as he handed Lolley a more prolonged cameo role to go and prove he is deserving of more regular game time.

It was not his finest outing and he quickly became frustrated at having given the ball away on a couple of occasions, but it was a reactive substitution on the manager's part and it was encouraging that Lolley was first in the pecking order from his bench options.

Of course, the return of Nahki Wells and others will swell the options available to the manager across positions but, with the score at 3-1 and Town initially threatening to build a head of steam ahead of one last roll of the dice for the crucial fifth goal, he looked to Lolley to have that influence on proceedings.

He has already guaranteed the former Kidderminster Harriers prodigy is a major part of his plans and will receive minutes, but there have been tangible doubts as to whether he truly fits into any of the positions Powell employs in his various systems.

What would have been interesting to see here was how he might have fared in the No.10 position with a better view of the game with Butterfield tiring and his tenacity threatening to spill over into trying too hard for the cause, but Lolley was shunted out wide and could not enjoy his finest runout even though it amounted to significantly more minutes than he usually receives and potentially renewed faith from Powell.

The scoreline is a bitter pill to swallow

Town fans will reflect back on this game in weeks to come and continue to wonder just how the sides were separated by three goals on the night, irrespective of the phenomenal firepower Kenny Jackett can now boast.

Wolves were clinical in attack and Town ultimately were not, but with results elsewhere also failing to really go Town's way, all of a sudden it looks hazardous once more at the bottom end of the Championship and Powell will be concerned at his side's goal difference too.

Only basement boys Blackpool and an inconsistent Fulham side have conceded more than Town's 52 now and to ship four here will have grated on fans after such a positive performance in both aspects of the game at Millwall just three days previously.

Indeed, Town's -12 swing between goals scored and conceded is the joint-fourth worst in the division but on a night where the Terriers posted some 31 shots, they may feel entitled to feel slightly hard done by to come out of this with a three-goal defeat to their names.

In failing to back up the result at The New Den at the weekend, Town's recent record since the tail end of December reads: WLWLWLWL and the daunting prospect of a trip to the Championship's top scorers Bournemouth now lies in wait.