Academy boss: Continuity the key to Wolves' future

The first team and academy at Wolves are more closely linked than ever with players mixing on a daily basis at the club's redeveloped training ground.

But they are also linked in terms of playing style, with the same philosophy of football encouraged for teams at all levels.

Academy boss Gareth Prosser gave the Express & Star an insight into the inner workings of Compton Park in a rare interview.

He explained that everyone needed to be singing from the same hymn sheet for the club as a whole to feel a benefit.

Prosser said: "We want to play from the back, we want to play through the thirds, we want players in between the lines, we want a 'nine' to run in behind, we want the players to be creative all over the pitch, be aggressive and win the ball back when we haven't got the ball.

"Some of these key principles remain the same throughout the academy.

"From a formation perspective we generally play a 4-2-3-1 at youth phase.

"At the professional phase (18 and upwards) there's a bit of flexibility. As you come through the age groups it's all about performance. From the professional phase it's about the ability to combine the performance with the result."

Prosser works closely with Kenny Jackett, be it in daily discussions on which players train with which age groups, formal meetings on players being ready for the first team or going out on loan, or an informal chat on, say, how Niall Ennis played in an England under-17 game.

"We work very closely together," Prosser said.

"That's one benefit of the club, the site is a one-site facility so the academy and first team are together.

"Every morning there's a daily meeting where Kenny, the under-21 staff and under-18 staff are present to discuss the training programme and the players that can bounce up or bounce down if need be.

"We also have more formal meetings like a technical board meeting with Jez Moxey, Kevin Thelwell, Kenny and the relevant staff to talk about players and succession planning.

"We can highlight key young players who may be ready now, or may not be ready now, but could be ready in due course, so that they're aware from a recruitment perspective.

"Changes happen all the time. You've only got to look at the likes of Dominic Iorfa, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, more recently Bright Enobakhare and Connor Ronan who've been exposed to the first team environment in some games, and training."