Stearman ready for homecoming

New defender Richard Stearman should have no trouble settling in after his move from Leicester, explains Wolves correspondent Tim Nash.

See also: Wolves fans back Stearman signing

The 20-year-old grew up with his dad an avid follower of the gold and black and still works at Banks’s Brewery.

The young Stearman was born and bred in Wolverhampton and spent the first few years of his life in Wightwick.

As backgrounds go, he could barely have done more to endear himself to Wolves fans than if he had arrived with a Bully crewcut, sitting astride Prince Consort in Queen Square clutching a pint of his old man’s mild singing ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’.

Judging by the early reaction to his signing, Stearman’s roots mean he already seems about to stretch the term ‘popular defender’ to its limits.

But the highly-rated centre-half is determined to earn his popularity for his performances on the pitch, rather than dine out on the parallels of his roots being so similar to the punters paying his wages.

He said: “Wightwick is just down the road from the training ground, so I’m pretty local and I’m familiar with the surroundings.

“I was here until I was five before I moved away to Leicester, so it’s nice to come back.

“My dad Paul still works at Banks’s Brewery. I’m not sure what job he does but I’ve been to watch quite a few Wolves games in the Banks’s box when they have sponsored games.

“My family support Wolves as well so I have watched them quite a lot.

“So it’s great to come back, I’ve got a lot of family still here and it’s convenient for me as well as a great move for me personally.

“I’ve got family in Leicester as well, but my dad has got a lot of friends who are Wolves fans, so there’s a keen interest from him.

“Moving away at the age of five through my parents’ work, I was perhaps too young to have been a Wolves fan but I’ve always had a soft spot for them because it was where I was born. My grandparents only recently just left.

“I can just about remember the first year of my primary school, although I can’t actually remember which school it was.”

Wolves’ capture of Stearman yesterday took the football world by surprise, chief executive Jez Moxey acting swiftly and efficiently to draw a conclusion to the deal within two weeks without a sniff of media speculation.

Stearman had been expected to move to the Premier League and Villa – where boss Martin O’Neill was the first of 10 men who managed Leicester while Richard was there – were the other club seriously linked.

Yet the 6ft 2ins defender believes he can reach the top flight with Wolves in double quick time.

He said: “I have been linked to Premier League clubs for a number of seasons but it didn’t quite come about.

“But I’m delighted to be here at Wolves – it’s a Premier League set-up with a Premier League fanbase going for a Premier League place.”

Despite his tender years, Stearman has piled up a lot of experience in his short career.

As said, amazingly there have been 10 managers in his 10 years at
Leicester, but through all the turmoil and upheaval Richard has remained a consistent figure.

After making his debut in October 2004, he became a first-team regular in 2005-06, attracting a bid from Wolves boss Mick McCarthy when he was in charge at Sunderland.

That was rejected by then-Foxes manager and former Wolves youth coach Rob Kelly, who said he was unwilling to part with one of his outstanding prospects.

So Stearman, who was called up by the England under-21 squad in November for the European Championship qualifiers, remained with the club for two more seasons, winning both Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year last season.

He said: “I made my debut at 17 and has been pretty much a regular for about four seasons. I played over 100 games for Leicester, so I got through a fair few managers in that time.

“It has stood me in good stead games wise and experience wise. I have gone through quite a lot.

“I am still only 20 and I have got through double figures in managers, so I think I’m quite experienced for my age.

“Every manager has got his own style and tactics, but I’ve been lucky in having quite a few managers who were defenders as players (Dave Bassett, Micky Adams, Craig Levein and Nigel Worthington).”

Stearman has also been at the club while Martin O’Neill, Peter Taylor, Rob Kelly, Martin Allen, Gary Megson – whose first-team coach was also a defender in Gerry Taggart – and Ian Holloway were in charge.

He said: “Now I’m here with another, so that can only aid me. I’ve played against Wolves a fair few times.

“Now it’s a case of trying to become a regular in the team.”