The key ingredient in the decision-making process over kick-starting a £40 million development is out: a cold towel.
Wolves will take a year to rebuild the Stan Cullis Stand at a cost of £16 million, having spent almost the entire season in the drop zone.
“It’s about making our mark on the club but I’m also a businessman and this has been approached in a very business-orientated way,” said owner Steve Morgan.
“It’s something that will be transitional over time but we are on a journey and unless you show that leap of faith in going down the road on that journey then you are never going to get there.
“People might look at our league position and wonder why we are going ahead.
“But sometimes when making decisions you have to step back and put a cold towel over your head. When you think about the football, we had a gut-wrenching defeat to Bolton in the 93rd minute and were as low as we could have been.
“And then, four days later, we beat one of the top clubs in the world in Manchester United. You can’t make a decision like this based on either of those emotions, based on a good result or a bad result.
"You have to think about the journey of Wolverhampton Wanderers and if this is the next step on that journey then that’s the decision you take.”
Morgan says evidence throughout the Premier League suggests the development will pay handsome dividends.
“History has shown that clubs who make an investment in their stadiums and produce better facilities for the fans are rewarded by more fans coming in,’’ he added.
“It’s a win, win, win – about taking the club to the next stage but most definitely not at the expense of our investment in the team.
“I also want to get that message across. We have a young and exciting squad. We have had a tough season and have got a tough 13 games to go.
“But you have to have confidence in the team.
“We can’t wait to see what happens. We have go now with this decision because of the lead-in time with materials. We’re very positive about the future.”
Chief executive Jez Moxey says the club’s decision to rebuild now is a ‘brave’ one.
“Let’s not kid ourselves, it is a brave decision and we are investing a lot of money into this,” he said.
“If we didn’t think we were going to stay in the Premier League, compete and prosper in the Premier League, then there would be no point in having a new facility.
“We have that belief that we have the right structure at the club with the right owner, the right manager and the right players.
“I think the fans must have enjoyed these last four or five years under Mick McCarthy.
‘‘We’ve had a lot of success and more of that success would mean staying in the league.”
Survival remains the aim. Moxey added: “I’d like to see a rekindling of that ‘we shall not be moved’ spirit which helped us over the closing stages of last season.”
