As part of his punditry duties for Match of the Day, Wright has been a visitor to Molineux on multiple occasions this season in both the Premier League and FA Cup.
Before Wolves knocked Manchester United out of the cup quarter-finals last weekend, wolves.co.uk asked ‘Wrighty’ for his thoughts on the club’s transition from the Championship to the Premier League.
Ian, you’ve seen Wolves play several times since the club were promoted to the Premier League, what are your thoughts on Nuno’s team so far this season?
“I’ve been very impressed. When they were coming up out of the Championship, the noises coming out of Wolves were that they were coming to compete, they were not coming to finish 17th.
“I think a lot of people in the Premier League were saying things like ‘oh yeah? We’ll see what you’re going to do, we’ll see…’ and they’ve come, and they’ve taken it by storm.
“They’ve been a breath of fresh air. It’s great to see a team who’ve come up and have been positive.”
Are you surprised at how well the team has adapted to the Premier League, because it’s one thing to say you are not going to be fighting for survival, but it’s another thing to actually do it?
“Not really, no. When you’re confident enough to say to people that you’re coming to compete, that means you’re going to go for it.
“When you look at the players Wolves have got; the ones who were already here last season and the ones that the team have signed, you always need someone to score goals and Wolves have that.
“But how the team does in the Premier League depends on how the players deal with the situations they find themselves in, how they deal with the ‘top boys’ and Wolves have done all that – they’ve answered all of those questions.”
Off the pitch, Wolves’ owners have large ambitions, do you think the club has the capability to match those ambitions?
“Ideally, for Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters, this is just the start of big things for them. They have got some great backing, but now it’s about sustaining.
“The training ground looks brilliant, in respect of the facilities that I’ve seen just walking around, and they’ve got big plans.
“You wouldn’t think they would do all this for it to all fall away. You just have to see how it goes, and it all comes down to performing in the league, staying in the league, attracting those great players and continuing to progress.”
For the first part of our exclusive interview with Ian Wright, click here.
