Mimms: Wolves should be proud

Bobby Mimms believes Wolves should be proud of the goalkeeping legacy he has helped blossom at Molineux.

The 44-year-old keeper’s coach has rejoined Blackburn, where he was a player, having nurtured arguably the greatest array of goalkeeping talent assembled in Wolves’ proud history and all are homegrown.

During Mimms’s seven years at the club, the former Everton and Tottenham shotstopper helped Hennessey develop from Manchester City reject to one of the brightest prospects in the gam.

He saw Murray go from similar star, billing to the fringes of the England squad before injuries curtailed his development.

In addition, Carl Ikeme barely gets a mention but following a hugely successful pre-season, the 22-year-old is knocking on the door as one of the finest in the Championship.

Mimms said: “We had three really good goalkeepers at Wolves. I think any club would be pleased to have them on their books.

“They are good lads and all three of them have come through the club. None of them were bought in – it was all in-house so to speak – and that’s something the club should be proud of.

“I’ve got many good memories at Wolves. When you have been at a club for so long, it’s obviously wrench to be going. Equally, the opportunity to go back to Blackburn was so strong.”

Wolves knew they were fighting a losing battle to keep Mimms, as soon as speculation started linking him with Blackburn three weeks ago.

The former Rovers shotstopper, who played 127 League games for the Ewood club from 1991-96, admits the lure of returning to a club where he won promotion and the Premier League in 1995 was too big to ignore.

He said: “The Premier League is the big thing for me. I’ve been at Wolves for almost eight years and there we’ve flirted with the Premier League for just one year.

“On top of that, with it being a club I played for, one I really enjoyed my time with, the opportunity was just too good to resist.”

For his goalkeeping ‘students’ Mimms’s attention to detail and work ethic drove on his ‘pupils’ to higher levels of perfection.

Hennessey said: “There are a lot of things that can work in goalkeeping and can’t work. Bob’s work worked for both Matt and myself.

“I started with Bob and we got into a routine. Coming into games on a Saturday, we have a routine before we play. Bob won’t be doing it any more, so we’ll have to get someone in that can do it.”

Murray added: “He has worked so hard with us. He comes to every reserve and first team game. He was on the phone to me all through the summer.

“He stays out there on the training field for hours with us. He’s worked with me on my kicking. I hate kicking, it’s the worst part of my game, so I practice it all the time.

“Trust me, there’s a lot of running to do to fetch the balls when I’m kicking them but Bobby does it.”