GOLDEN WONDERS
As club captain Batth reflected on the transformation of a famous club in ruins to a Championship title party in five years, there was a ring of truth to his claim that Wolves’ sophisticated football will suit the top flight.
Batth is the face of Wolves’ rebirth, a process started by Kenny Jackett’s root-andbranch overhaul in League One five years ago.
Now it is consecrated in barrels of Numero Nuno celebration ale, a nod to the genius of Black Country messiah Nuno Espirito Santo.
Batth can face his public on Wednesday night at the launch of Married to The Game – a film about football helping the fight against child trafficking in India – as skipper of the side who restored pride to the old gold shirt.
Last summer he travelled to Jharkhand, in his ancestors’ homeland, to coach girls rescued by the Yuwa charity from forced marriage and subjugation. And film star or not, he knows where the credit is due for Wolves’ return to the Premier League after a six-year absence – a feat enshrined by hashtag #The Pack is Back.
Batth, 27, said: “Every single fan will give Kenny Jackett all the credit in the world. We were sinking as a club, but he identified the problems and rebuilt the trust with the fans.
“We’ve had a few managers since Kenny, but we’ve arrived at Nuno and finally we have an identity we can stick with.
“I’m sure the club will want to be competing again in the market this summer and making sure Wolves are competing next season because