Dave Edwards: Wolves must be forever grateful to Kenny Jackett

As a player, I was in a fairly unique position to appreciate it.

I had been part of the failure, being relegated from the Premier League and then relegated from the Championship.

But then I was also part of the rebuild, to which Kenny was key.

When the club went down to League One, the board simply had to get the next managerial appointment right.

They did it by bringing in someone who was very cool, calculated and not emotionally-led when it came to making decisions. It was exactly what we needed.

Kenny did a wonderful job. At the start, he had some really tough calls to make. There were conversations which needed to be had with some big names, who were told they were not going to be part of his squad.

He went about rebuilding the culture from the inside-out, reconnecting the fanbase with the players, a relationship which had become completely lost.

Kenny did all of it and he did it in style. It was testing at the start, trying to get into our rhythm. There were a lot of young players in the squad.

But as we got toward the Christmas period and once he had been able to make a few signings, we absolutely romped it.

Kenny had a great way about him. He and Joe Gallen had a really good mix, with Kenny serious and Joe a bit more jovial.

There was a connection between Kenny and the players. He had everyone’s respect. When he spoke, you listened.

To think we got 103 points to win the title and then got 78 the next season, still the highest total of a team not to make the play-offs.They were two great seasons before the club started selling its best players.

Kenny battled to keep us competitive and was unfortunate to lose his job. Yet in true fashion, he did not moan. You would never hear him say a bad thing about Wolves. He loved his time here and was a big part of why the club has been successful in the last 10 years.

Wolves fans and the club will be forever grateful for stepping in at the hour or need and doing such a stellar job. It really was the start of something special.

The news of Kenny's death last week was devastating to hear. My thoughts and sympathy are with his family and friends.