For Neill Collins, the future is very much old gold.

And not just because his new four-year contract sees him tied to Wolves until 2012.

Having been signed by Mick McCarthy twice during his career - once for Sunderland and then 18 months ago for Wolves - Neill is well aware of how the Molineux boss works.

And that gives him the cast-iron belief that the development of the Wolves squad means that good times are most definitely on the horizon.

Hence why the 24-year-old was more than happy to put pen to paper on an extended contract and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Wayne Hennessey, Michael Kightly and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

"One of the big reasons I want to stay here is the gaffer because that was one of the big reasons I came in the first place," he explains.

"I could have stayed at Sunderland and fought for my place, but I liked the thought of coming to play for him and hopefully I'll play for him for a long time to come.

"The gaffer works with a lot of players individually and when he first got hold of me at Sunderland when I was a younger player he was very good with regards to what I needed to work on.

"He made good decisions for me in terms of allowing me to go on loan to Hartlepool and he still helps me and the other players because you can always talk to him.

"He doesn't talk to you personally every day or every week, but now and again, when you're a bit down or you need to keep your feet on the ground then he'll tell you.

"That's one of the best things about playing for him - how straightforward he is.

"He has a good relationship with the players and you can see that by the fact that the players he has brought in and those who have committed themselves to stay have all mentioned the gaffer's influence."

Collins continues:  "You only have to look at what he did at Sunderland who were able to go straight back up after they went down.

"They spent a bit of money after the gaffer went but he had left good young players there who were the backbone of the team.

"People like Nyron Nosworthy, Dean Whitehead and Daryl Murphy are still there and playing in the Premier League.

"He's doing the same here and everyone can see in the likes of Kevin Foley, Michael Kightly, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake - these are players that a lot of other teams want but we've got them and they've committed themselves to Wolves which is great news.

"At the same time they are all just as keen to be here as Wolves are keen to have them."

With 69 appearances and six goals in a season-and-a-half at Molineux to date, Neill has already proved a key figure.

With a new contract under his belt, and the departure of last season's skipper Gary Breen, the Troon-born stopper is ready to shoulder even more leadership responsibilities should the situation arise.

"I heard an interview with Rio Ferdinand recently where he was talking about needing as many captains on the park as possible which is right," explains Neill.

"With us losing Breeny that's one less for us here because he was always very vocal.

"It's a part of my game that naturally I am also vocal and I've got to build on that as well as continuing to learn.

"I'll be looking to take on more responsibility which I'm sure all the other players are and that is what the manager will want from us.

"Sylvan is a similar character up front and Andy Keogh has got a lot of experience now having played a lot of games so we're all looking to step up.

"It's certainly not a shy dressing room and of course we've got Jody (Craddock) and possibly Micky Gray in the dressing room who are great people who we can all learn from."

Two big positives to spring from last season for Neill were his versatility and those goals.

Despite his stated preferred position in the centre of defence he was happy to play in all positions across the back four whilst also weighing in with four goals, and all of them crucial winning goals at that.

Three of the four - against Barnsley, Coventry and Scunthorpe - crucially arrived in a game's latter stages.

"As long as I've got a jersey I'm happy," Neill insists.

"While you perhaps always want to specialise, in football nowadays you can't cut off your nose to spite your face and have got to be able to play in different positions if required.

"I think we had a degree of success last year defensively with 19 clean sheets which I'm not sure anyone else in the division achieved.

"If we could do the same again this year I don't think we'd be far off and if that means me playing in goal then fine!

"As for the goals it's another target for me to try and beat the four from last season.

"Hopefully I can chip in again this season because it's a big part of a defender's game now.

"People might not think it but centre backs in this division probably need to produce five or six goals if they are going to be talked about among maybe the top five or six in the division.

"Hopefully I can keep providing the odd goal or two and I'm sure Jody and the other defenders will be looking to do the same as well."

One of the characters more often than not to be found right in the thick of Wolves' thriving dressing room, Neill insists the squad are delighted to be back in training preparing for the new campaign and a fresh start.

And he is confident the trio of summer signings thus far - Sam Vokes, Richard Stearman and David Jones - have all fitted in seamlessly.

"That's the great thing about football, getting back in again for the start of the season," he says.

"I remember when I was younger as a supporter as well - it was like no matter what had happened the previous season you came back and started afresh.

"There was disappointment on the last day against Plymouth and everyone was gutted.

"Obviously that's still on your mind in some respects but at the same time there's a blank sheet of paper for everyone and we're starting again.

"You can see from everyone how keen we all are to be here and it's good to be back in.

"The new boys have all fitted in really well and I think it must be one of the easiest changing rooms to fit into in football.

"New signings are always made really welcome and that can only be a good thing."