Football agent and former Wolves favourite Mel Eves has a good feeling about Stale Solbakken.
Adlene Guedioura’s recent exit to Nottingham Forest has irked some supporters, to put it mildly.
But to Eves it is a sign that the Norwegian will not shirk from some far heftier decisions that lie ahead.
The boss’s aim when he was appointed in May was to get Wolves singing and dancing again after a woeful season of under-performance which led to their Premier demise.
“Solbakken has come in and he’ll sort it out,” said ex-star Eves, who won the League Cup in 1980 as the highlight of a near decade with the Molineux club.
“I’ve seen his CV and I’ve been speaking to a few people in the game. He could turn out to be a very astute signing,” he said.
“As with anything, you need times when things need to be right.
“Roy Hodgson didn’t have a very good time at Liverpool but his CV still shows that he is a top manager.
“You can’t have a crystal ball to say he’s definitely going to succeed but I would have thought he’s got a very, very good chance of succeeding – which is all you can ask for.
“Solbakken is unknown by many but I’ve got a feeling he’ll do pretty well. He seems to have a pretty good record.
“I know he’s had a disastrous year in Germany with Cologne, but looking at the way the club was set up Wolves are probably a little bit more stable. He’ll be coming in on the back of a pretty stable period under Mick McCarthy.
“It’s a different scenario for him, so fingers crossed he’ll be OK.”
Eves says a play-off spot is probably the least Wolves can expect.
“I think they’ve got cause for optimism – I think they’ll be there or thereabouts in the top six,” he said.
“It’s always a little bit of a lottery to say you are going to get automatic promotion – that’s what they should be aiming for. But I think they’ve got a good enough squad already.
“They’ve got a good enough financial base to make sure they can go out and get a strong enough squad.
“On paper they’re strong enough, or virtually strong enough, already. It just depends on what develops over the next five weeks in the transfer window – who goes out and who comes in.
“But they’re certainly going to be strong enough to be in the top six, and I’d be surprised if they’re not.
“They’ve got to be pushing to be in the top three, certainly top six.
“It’s not going to be easy because there’s going to be at least a dozen teams in that division who are thinking the same.
“It’s a very, very difficult division to get out of and then after you’ve done that stay in the Premier League.
“West Brom have done it.
“Hopefully they’ll improve on what they did last year – which is going to be a big ask.”
