Farke will take drop to be just like Klopp
LIFE at Wolves became a grind for Kevin Foley when survival in the Premier League was always the name of the game.
But these days it’s all about the glory at Molineux as they embark on what their former defender feels could be a golden era in the modern game.
Backed by ambitious Chinese owners Fosun International boasting strong ties to super agent Jorge Mendes, and with an astute manager in Nuno
Espirito Santo –
Foley (right) fully believes that the club are primed for
“the next level.”
He said: “Anyone I speak to at the club says how the manager is such a good motivator.
“He has confidence in himself and his players and the staff around him.
“To think that they are where they are in the Premier League while juggling the extra Europa League games just shows he is so important to what they want to do.
“They now seem like they are building towards the Champions League, that’s the ultimate goal and they are working towards that.”
Despite the obvious advantages of having a fortune at their disposal, Foley thinks that it is Nuno’s clever judgment that is making Wolves a success in the transfer market.
“It’s one thing to have millions behind you but it’s another thing to actually spend them wisely,” he said.
“You would be hard pressed to look at any of the players they have brought in and say, ‘That was a waste of money.’ They have been very shrewd.”
Wolves had to play it smart during Foley’s time too but for a very different reason.
After securing promotion to the Premier League under Mick McCarthy in 2009, they survived three seasons in the top flight before suffering relegation at the end of the
2011-12 campaign.
It was only when Fosun took the helm in 2016 that their fortunes changed.
And Foley,
35, who is now assistant coach at American side Tampa Bay Rowdies after leaving his role with his former club’s academy, is excited to watch from afar.
He said: “Wolves are next level now. When we came up we knew we would be scrapping for it.
“Nothing changed by that third year. When you first go up and are playing in the Premier League you think, ‘This is great, this is amazing.’
“But the tone quickly changes. Then it becomes about getting a win, getting a draw, doing whatever was needed to get the result.
“It is a grind but you still want to be a part of it, you still want to stay up because at the end you just want another year in the Premier League.
“We had to change to keep doing that, we had no choice. We came up from the Championship where we were dominating games and rolling teams over.
“Suddenly you are playing much better teams and you have to change, you can’t play the game the way you wanted. But that’s the job, you’re a footballer and you have to adjust and be professional.
“It’s just a shame we couldn’t kick on like the club are now.”
DANIEL FARKE has vowed to stick with Norwich even if they go down – because he wants to do things the Jurgen Klopp way.
Time is running out for the rock-bottom Canaries, who take on Wolves at Molineux today.
It looks highly likely that last season’s Championship winners will be back there next term.
Farke, however, has been tipped for bigger things, with Norwich chief executive Stuart Webber declaring he is destined to “be a head coach in the Champions League”.
But the German made it clear he was prepared to play the long game over that ambition, just as Klopp did when he began his managerial career.
He said: “Jurgen Klopp is the perfect role model. He has won so much at Liverpool and for Borussia Dortmund but also he worked for a long period at Mainz.
“He worked there in the second tier – in his first year he missed promotion by just one point and in his second by one goal.
“Then they were promoted to the top tier but went back to the second. It was only after his sixth year that he left Mainz.
“He is judged now by the titles he won and the Champions League finals but if you ask Jurgen he values his time at Mainz.
“All I can say is that I am proud to work at this unbelievable club.
“One day there will be the situation where people don’t want me here any more. They will want to see another face – or a long ball again!
“This time will come. I will accept it.” Canaries midfielder Todd Cantwell was so impressive against Liverpool last week to be linked with a £30million summer Kop switch days later.
But Farke made it clear that Cantwell, 21, should stay in Norfolk.
He added: “To be linked is not enough. You have to make sure you deliver one, two, three proper seasons and then you can play for the best teams in the world.”