Work at Molineux is moving nearer

Wolves owner Steve Morgan today announced work to dismantle the Stan Cullis stand for its £16 million rebuild will start on Monday.

The front of the stand will be less than 20ft from the pitch, he said. He also said he will have a glass of wine to calm his nerves before Sunday's vital match against Blackburn. "I will be outwardly calm, inwardly nervous, but confident," he said. "I feel we will do it."

Within hours of Sunday's final whistle, workers will start ripping out the fading gold seats and other fittings before bulldozers move in, reducing the entire north stand to rubble within a month.

Mr Morgan, aged 58, said: "We have marked out where the front of the stand will be and it will be six metres from the pitch. It will be quite a bit higher than the existing stand, but the big thing is it will be much, much closer."

The work will mark the start of the £40m transformation of the stadium with the Stan Cullis and Steve Bull stands being rebuilt and another tier added to the Jack Harris stand.

The first tier of the new stand will be ready to seat some fans in uncovered areas by the middle of September, Mr Morgan said today.

The existing single-tier Stan Cullis is being replaced with a two-tier, 7,700-seater stand that will boost the ground's capacity from 29,408 to 31,700.

The £24m development of the Steve Bull and Jack Harris stands, which would increase capacity to 37,000, would follow.

Mr Morgan was speaking as he launched a schools community initiative he hopes will attract new fans to Molineux.

Every school in Wolverhampton will receive at least one class visit to Molineux during the works, benefiting around 3,000 children. Some 30 youngsters from Woodfield Junior School in Penn visited today.