Danny Batth is a man on a mission.

Praised by Wolves boss Mick McCarthy as the best player in Tuesday’s 2-1 friendly defeat against Reading, this is no shy, retiring rookie.

At 19, the Brierley Hill-born centre-back has justified his elevation to first-team recognition with two impressive performances against Walsall and Reading.

In a similar vein to McCarthy the player, Batth is no shrinking violet with the vocal presence to match his 6ft 3in frame.

And, having already captained Wolves’ youth and reserve teams, he would love to one day complete the clean sweep and lead the team out at Molineux.

Asked whether he is being ‘talked’ through games by his more experienced team-mates, he smiles.

“It’s usually the other way around – I’m on at them!” said Batth. “I know the lads on and off the field and it’s just a case of putting into practice what you learn in training.

“I’ve already captained the youth and the reserve teams here. Pushing for the first team is a different case but it helps anyone playing in my position to be a bit loud and get everyone around you.

“That’s something I’ve always done anyway and the higher you go, the more you have to do it, such as telling the players in front of you where you want them to help the team’s defending.”

Batth is anxious to develop his own way, but there is something McCarthy-like about the no-nonsense way he goes about his business.

Not surprisingly, his gaffer figures high in his list of mentors in a rich learning environment where he is not short on role models, with captains Jody Craddock and Karl Henry ready to lend a voice or an ear.

“My job is to keep clean sheets but when I can play the ball about, I will because you have to help the team out, if it’s on,” said Batth.

“It’s a question of striking a balance really. The manager’s always telling things which can make little differences. From his experience, he knows my position inside out so anything I need to work on, he tells me – quite frequently!

“The lads I work with here are always giving me tips so I just think you become what you are from what you pick up.

“Personality is important and I want to express mine. Jody’s a great pro and he gets the lads together at the back and runs his line. Then you’ve got Karl, who does it with all the side.

“As captain, he’s pretty vocal but the whole team helps out. If anyone makes a mistake, everyone rallies around.”

As a Black Country boy, Batth is sufficiently grounded not to let his recent successes go to his head.

But he would love to one day sample the dizzy heights of the Premier League.

“I know I need to keep pushing on every day in training so I can hopefully make an impression on the first team and then see what happens,” he said.

“There’s plenty of competition but anything can happen in football – I just keep my head down.

“I’m not too sure what the manager’s plans are for us but it’s nice to leave an impression with people that I’m here and looking to push on.”

Having joined the club at the age of nine, a host of Wolves’ names past and present have contributed to Batth’s development.

But it was the 17 games he spent on loan at Colchester last season, where former Molineux No.2 and ex-caretaker-boss John Ward was assistant to Aidy Boothroyd, that accelerated his development.

“Playing at Colchester gave me the experience to know what to do when I’m in and around the first team here,” he said. “That helped me mature on and off the pitch, and after that, I felt I was prepared.

“I was defending all the time because the ball’s always coming back at you and you can’t afford to take any risks either, so it was good.

“Aidy and John helped me by picking out things from my game that I’ve learned from and pushed on with and it’s started to come together.

“I’ve just got my head down since I returned, worked hard and I’ll see what comes from it.”

Batth has come a long way since walking through the doors as a schoolboy a decade ago.

“I came here at the age of nine and worked my way through the academy, learning everything,” he said.

“A scout, Les Green, brought me here when I was playing Sunday League football for Swinmore Rangers in Brierley Hill and then I played for the district side.

“John Perkins was academy coach when I first joined full-time and Chris Evans the director.

“All the coaches I’ve worked under have given me different things and you take what you need from each one.”

And it’s a journey that has plenty of miles to cover.

By Tim Nash