Jez Moxey says he remains hopeful that Wolves can find a new owner in the not-too-distant future, but believes the future of the club remains bright even if the search continues into next season.
Wolves’ CEO, speaking at the announcement to welcome new main club sponsor the Money Shop, acknowledges it has been a frustrating season for everyone concerned, and that the club being up for sale will reduce the potential for any major investment in the playing squad this summer.
But he is confident that there will be an opportunity for Kenny Jackett to reshape the squad with some player movement, added to the younger players now being far more experienced, and others still to return from the treatment room.
In terms of the ongoing search for an owner, Jez has confirmed there have been plenty of interested parties and plenty of discussions, but as yet no one that has agreed a deal to take the club on.
“Discussions with a variety of people carry on,” says Jez.
“Some stick around, and some go.
“I am hopeful of a positive outcome but I can’t and won’t put any timeline on it.
“I wouldn’t want to raise any expectations – we know where we are.
“Steve Morgan still owns the club and we know we have got an important summer ahead of us.
“Owning and running a football club is a very challenging and difficult thing to do.
“If you think of the number of clubs that are up for sale, or have changed hands in recent times, it shows just how difficult this is (to find an owner)
“There is a lot of talk in the market about foreign investment coming in but in reality there are so few clubs that have changed hands.
“There are so few people with the sort of money that you need nowadays to own and invest properly in a football club.
“There are not many people around with tens of millions of pounds that just want to give it to a football club.
“And that’s because even if they like football, and they like the idea of it, they know it is a heck of a challenge and if it doesn’t go well, you can end up in the situation that many clubs have ended up in.
“This is why we have said it may take years, and why what we have got is not as bad as maybe people think.
"And we don't just want to sell to anybody.
"Many of our older fans remember when this club nearly went out of business - we don't want a return to those days.
"It requires someone, who will continue to run the club in a sensible, positive way without risking its future.
“This is a very precious, national sporting institution that stands for so many positive things, with its fantastic history and what it means to the people.
“Steve Morgan has helped us create a very stable club that will be attractive to the right buyer, and I think the future is bright.”
Jez says everyone at the club shares the same level of disappointment and frustration at what is going to be a mid-table finish in the Sky Bet Championship, and are all focused on working together to improve things next time out.
He added: “Although this season has been frustrating for us, there are more reasons to be optimistic about this squad when you look at them and see the foundations that have been built.
“We have not scored as many goals as we would have liked, we have not won as many games as we would have liked, and our home form hasn’t been as good as what we would have liked.
“We think we know why that is, and while we don’t really want to say it because it sounds like an excuse, we have been beset by an incredible array of injuries.
“That, and other issues, have culminated in us finishing mid-table and we know that isn’t good enough.
“The fans aren’t satisfied, the coach isn’t satisfied, the directors aren’t satisfied and together we will make it better for the future.
“It has been a difficult and disjointed season with many different challenges and I think the team has battled admirably under those difficult circumstances
“We are delighted with the backing the fans have given us through the renewal of the Early Bird Season Tickets.
“We have a young team which is going to be better next season and hopefully we will be able to not only sell the club in the not-too-distant future but also strengthen the team to do what we all want to do - challenge for those promotion places.”
With the club up for sale, there are plenty of questions about what level of investment Wolves will may able to make in the summer to add to the squad.
Jez says realism dictates that if there isn’t a new owner it will have an affect, but that there will be the opportunity for Kenny to move players in and out with a view to improving the squad.
“The club has always bought players and always sold players, it is part and parcel of football,” he said.
“The reality is that we are not in the position with a new owner to be able to go and spend loads of money strengthening the team in three, four, five different areas that we would ideally like to do.
“But that doesn’t mean that the future isn’t bright.
“The club is stable, we have a great supporter base, and a squad that will be better for the season that is about to finish and more experienced.
“Hopefully we will have much better season next season, but we need to thank supporters for their backing and their patience, and we understand their concerns.
“We all want to see better football and more wins and everyone here is working as hard as we can to achieve that.
“We hope we will be able to do something as we always do in the transfer window, to strengthen the team.
“We have to be realistic and know that we haven’t got that money to spend and we are going to have to be clever and have to be creative.
“We may trade players, but players are bought and sold all the time, and what we have to do is create a team that can compete for a promotion spot if we possibly can.
“We think with our team, players coming back from injury, and hopefully changing it around a bit in the summer, whether that is with or without a new owner, we will be able to have a better season next year.”
