Nuno lifts beer ban to toast ‘special’
Nuno Espirito Santo said this was not going to be a party. After an outstanding first season in English football, the Wolves head coach has finally got something wrong.
Wolves are back in the Premier League for the first time since 2012, and this was an afternoon of joyous celebration, a city unified by its return to football’s national conscience. The Pack Is Back, and this victory over Birmingham City has all but secured the Championship title with three games to spare, four years after the club were held to a 0-0 draw by Stevenage.
With super-agent Jorge Mendes watching from the stand, and implored to “give us a wave” by the South Bank, Wolves have been far too good for the Championship, leading the table since mid-november. With 29 victories from 43 games, playing some of the best football ever seen in this ruthless division, Nuno’s revolution has been remarkable.
“It’s a special feeling and to get promoted from the hardest division in the world makes me ecstatic,” said the Portuguese. “I never allow beer in the dressing room, but I have allowed it for the first time so I must be really happy. Everybody that loves Wolverhampton Wanderers deserves credit because it is important to have people that believe in you and support you.
“This is a big moment and it is why we work for the fans. We have achieved it together and I enjoy it, as every player has. It was a very hard season and we’ve had some fantastic times.
“Now, I want more. We can get to 104 points so let’s see if we can do that. No relaxing, everyone is focused on the next game.”
It feels like this is just the beginning. Wolves will not be in the Premier League to consider finishing 17th as some badge of honour; significant sums will be spent and the connection with Mendes, which has been such a source of irritation for their rivals, will be utilised to the full.
Mendes has already delivered Nuno and £15.8million signing Ruben Neves and many other talents, including Diogo Jota, the attacker signed on loan from Atletico Madrid, who will complete a permanent move in July.
Five years ago Wolves were relegated from the Championship, their players targeted by the travelling supporters during a chastening afternoon at Brighton. The club’s spirit was broken.
It represented the dreaded ‘double-dip’ of successive relegations and was the first time Wolves had operated in the third tier since 1989.
Under Kenny Jackett, promotion was non-negotiable, but he delivered to set the wheels in motion for Wolves’s route to recovery. When owners Fosun completed their £30million takeover in July 2016, there were the usual promises and bold statements of intent.
But Fosun have emphatically delivered, with the minimum of tinkering. Yet while the mantra all season has been one of unity, it is impossible to understate the impact of Nuno. On Friday he evoked memories of Claudio Ranieri from Leicester’s title-winning season, shaking the hands of the six journalists and the one cameraman present, before producing a trademark press conference in which he gave nothing away. And this was apparently one of his better ones. He, and his team, have done their talking on the field.
Nuno has admittedly been given access to a quality of player none of his recent predecessors had, but the 44-year-old has still moulded them into a winning team, with a new style of play, a fluid 3-4-3, introduced on the first day of pre-season.
He has vastly improved seasoned British professionals such as captain Conor Coady, Ryan Bennett and Matt Doherty, one of the real arts of management.
His passaholics were ahead here after a typically brilliant counterattack in the 21st minute. Doherty was sent clear into the penalty area by Romain Saiss and his cross was