Danny Batth is delighted to be continuing his long-standing journey with Wolves - and believes good times are ahead at Molineux.
The captain, who first joined the Academy as a ten-year-old, has signed a new four-year contract securing his future at Wolves to the summer of 2020.
The defender, who turned 26 yesterday, is now confident Wolves can make good progress this season under new Head Coach Walter Zenga.
“I am delighted to commit my future to the club and a club that I have been on a great journey with so far,” he said.
“I also hope during my continued association with the club that we will obviously progress and we will reach the Premier League.
“It has been a long journey for me at Wolves, and I have been here since coming to the Academy when I was ten years old.
“I have worked my way through the ages, playing reserve team football, youth team football, all the way up to obviously being the first team captain and representing the club in the Championship and that it is something that I am very proud of.
“The people that have helped me get here are the ones that I owe this to.
“I have always worked hard and one of the things I have always told myself is it’s not about getting there, it’s about staying there.
“That is the difficult thing and that is something that I want to do at Wolves now.
“Not only to have got to this level but obviously to stay here and then get to the next level which is what the club want and Jeff Shi has been great since he has come in. I have spoken to him and he has got the club going in the right direction.”
Batth is also confident Wolves are heading in the right direction on the pitch with the blend of the new management staff and those with plenty of experience.
“I think from the first moment that Walter and Andrea(Butti) walked through the door, along with Jeff and the Fosun group, it has been something that has involved change but it is also a learning process for myself and all the other players in the dressing room.
“As captain, I have embraced that and I have made sure that the players have come along with me and I think we will now start to see the rewards and hopefully that will pay dividends.
“The gaffer has given me confidence, he has helped the team in many little ways, little details in fine-tuning different things.
“I am obviously happy with my performances so far but I like to feel that I can still get better and make sure that obviously now I am here for another four years that over that period of time we can really reach those heights and the level that I really want to compete at.
“We pushed for the play-offs on our first season back in the Championship but not last season.
“I’d like to feel now that we have assembled a squad and we have got the individuals and the characters like myself, Dave Edwards, Carl Ikeme ,who have all been here for a long time, gelling everyone together.
“Behind the scenes you have obviously still got some familiar faces with Kevin Thelwell and Richard Skirrow, who helped with this contract, and made sure everything was alright but we have got a good balance and I think going into the season now, into the thick of the winter, things will be good.”
All in all Batth is delighted to have cemented his future, and is confident that good times are ahead.
“It is hard to sum up my feelings about Wolves,” he added.
“It is in my blood, it is my daily routine, it is everything that I know.
“Wolves is special to me and something I take very seriously.
“I am always wanting to look at the long term and try to help us move in the right direction.
“Hopefully now I have committed my future to the club and hopefully we can all get together – fans, management and Board, and push in the right direction.
“Hopefully we are on the right trajectory forward and can arrive where we want to be.”
