Media View: Jacqui Oatley’s Wolves insight

Ahead of the match, afcb.co.uk caught up with lifelong Wolves fan and BBC commentator Jacqui Oatley to get her view on Nuno Espirito Santo’s side and their season so far.

afcb.co.uk: Wolves are the ‘best of the rest’ ahead of this game, sitting seventh in the Premier League. How happy have you been with their season so far?

JO: I’m still expecting to wake up any minute from this dream that Wolves are seventh in the Premier League and in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup! We couldn’t have asked for anymore than that after promotion last year.

Only two years ago, we were in the middle of a six-match losing streak on our way down to 21^st in the Championship under Paul Lambert. We were far more likely to get relegated than promoted. Five years ago, we were in League One, so my feet are very firmly on the ground.

With the way the club is structured now, it doesn’t feel doom and gloom. It feels like this is the start of a very exciting journey and nobody quite knows where it’s heading. The club is so ambitious, has genuine plans and is very well run.

Thanks to the outstanding communication between the club and the fans, not only are the fans enjoying what’s on the pitch, but they’re excited about what potentially lies ahead, whilst still maintaining that Black Country sense of humour and constant self-doubt!

afcb.co.uk: It sounds as though the club’s activities off the pitch have been just as beneficial as the performances on it.

JO: They’ve kept the template of improving in key areas, not just with random signings, but with players who very much fit into Nuno’s mould. As for their characters, you don’t hear stories about them falling out on the training ground, because Nuno knows exactly who he wants.

If he gets them, great. If he doesn’t get his key target, as was the case with Tammy Abraham in January, he’s not going to go for anyone else because he’s got a specific plan.

A lot of other clubs would have said ‘we need a body through the door,’ but you never hear that expression at Wolves. They want the specific player or nobody at all. They don’t want a big squad and they don’t want issues with players not playing. That formula is working at the moment.

afcb.co.uk: The club’s huge aspirations for the future have been well-documented. How exciting is it for fans to hear that they don’t want to settle for where they are now?

JO: It’s difficult for people like me to hear that because I lived through the less glamorous days! I don’t really want to think that far ahead but it is exciting because there is genuine ambition. We’ve seen a lot of rich owners promise the earth, whereas what Fosun are trying to do at Wolves is improve the training ground facilities, and they’ve done that tenfold.

Plans are very much in place to buy up the land that they need to expand Molineux Stadium as well. Now, they can probably press the button on the plans sooner rather than later because they look set to stay in the Premier League. A point on Saturday will push them up to the 40-point mark, from which people can look ahead to next season.

afcb.co.uk: On the pitch, who have been the key players to the success this season?

JO: Every single one! People were talking all about Ruben Neves ahead of this season, but actually it started with the likes of Matt Doherty standing out. Conor Coady has been absolutely outstanding. With all the exotic, Portuguese players coming in, whilst the fans love those players, they adore Coady because he’s an incredibly likeable Scouser who has improved so much from being a central midfielder to being a centre-back.

He’s the spokesperson for the team because a lot of them don’t enjoy doing interviews! Poor Conor has to do pretty much everything, but his enthusiasm and love for the club comes through every time he opens his mouth.

You can’t dismiss Joao Moutinho, who has been an exceptional addition since signing from AS Monaco. Raul Jimenez has been phenomenal with the way he has improved, adding goals to his game.

Midway through the season, Leander Dendoncker changed the structure of the midfield and has transformed the side with his assurance in midfield. You can look everywhere and see players improving from the Championship, and those who have been brought in have improved the rest of the squad.

Most of all, Doherty has been the surprise package of the Premier League and is in everyone’s fantasy teams!

afcb.co.uk: When Bournemouth played Wolves earlier in the season, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side came away with a 2-0 win. How do you see it panning out this weekend at Vitality Stadium?

JO: I usually predict a 2-2 result with Bournemouth because I think they’re probably going to concede goals as well as score them. I really enjoy watching them and I’m a big fan of Eddie Howe. He’s another manager who doesn’t like to tinker too much and is very loyal to certain players.

I like the fact that he brings in specific individuals who he knows are going to improve the team and look to kick on. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Bournemouth, as I like the area and take my kids down there during school breaks! It’s very difficult to predict, but I’m going to stick with 2-2.

You can follow Jacqui on Twitter at @JacquiOatley.