Sir Alex Ferguson today declared his belief Wolves could become one of the top names in football again as he revealed his soft spot for the club.

At 67, the Manchester United boss is old enough to remember Wolves’ all-conquering teams of the 1950s and he hosts Mick McCarthy’s outfit tonight in the Carling Cup third round admitting he was ‘enthralled’ growing up watching exploits of Stan Cullis’s side that helped pioneer European competition.

Despite the passing of five decades, those images have found a permanent place in the heart of the normally hard-nosed Scot, and mean he has kept a high regard for the Molineux club ever since.

“I’ve long had a soft spot for Wolves, maybe because when I was a starry-eyed youngster – yes really – I grew up with their famous team of the 1950s, with players like Bill Slater, Ron Flowers and Peter Broadbent,” he said.

“I think I could probably run through their whole team, so enthralled was I by their exploits in Europe against teams like Moscow Dynamo and Honved.”

And the legendary managerial figure, who has been in charge at Old Trafford for almost 23 years, believes the club could one day challenge his modern-day top four.

“It has something about it, and I always felt that if someone could really get hold of the place and give it a good shaking, they could be a top club again,” he said.

“They certainly have the history and tradition, and it’s good to see them back in the top division. It’s where they belong.”

Ferguson’s affection for Wolves was rekindled in 1994 when his midfielder son Darren signed for then Molineux boss Graham Turner and the United chief became a regular watcher of games.

“More recently I used to be a regular visitor to Molineux because my son Darren played there for four years, and I would go down to watch him whenever I wasn’t involved with Manchester United,” he said.

“So I got to know and like the club all over again.”