Mark Hughes appeared to lay the blame for Stoke City's 2-0 FA Cup third-round defeat to Wolves at the door of his star names.
Hughes restored ex-Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic and record signing Giannelli Imbula to his starting XI to face the Championship side, along with former Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri after the trio sat out a 2-0 win over Watford in midweek.
That result ended a five-match winless run in the Premier League and the returning trio did little to push their case for regular inclusion on Saturday as Stoke's Championship opponents left the bet365 Stadium with a deserved 2-0 triumph.