a dismal Christmas period saw him under increasing pressure as they weren't even in the playoff zone. An FA Cup win over top flight Newcastle United seemed to reverse fortunes though, and his side lost just two of their remaining twenty games to finish 5th, in the play-off zone. The FA Cup run lasted until the quarter-finals. They overcame Reading in the semi-finals and 3–0 victory over Sheffield United in the final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, saw Jones become the manager who returned Wolves to the top level of English football for the first time since 1984 and the man who achieved the chairman Jack Hayward's ambition of Premier League football after eleven years, millions of pounds spent on players, and four previous managers. Jones had just £4 million to spend in the summer preparing for Premier League football. However, the team was significantly weakened by long-term injuries to Joleon Lescott and Matt Murray, and began the season missing several other key components of their promotion campaign. The side endured a very poor start to the campaign, shipping nine goals in two games, and remaining winless until their eighth match. Although, he oversaw several impressive results – most notably defeating a full strength Manchester United 1–0 in the league on 17 January 2004 – his side was mired in the relegation zone for almost all the season and was duly relegated in 20th place with 33 points. They only won eight league games all season, and failed to win a single away game. Their relegation was effectively confirmed on 1 May despite an impressive win over Everton, which left them needing a mathematical miracle to finish outside the bottom three, and the following weekend their survival became mathematically impossible. Jones aimed for an immediate return to the Premier League in 2004–05, but had to begin the season once again under a cloud of injuries. His squad was now ageing, with most of the players bought as experienced pros in 2001 still forming the core. The side failed to live up to expectations and managed just four wins from the first fifteen games, leaving them 17th. As pressure mounted, he was sacked on 1 November 2004, after a final loss against a Gillingham side reduced to ten men, a side who had been on the receiving end of a 6–0 Wolves victory in their previous meeting just before the promotion 18