Stephen Gleeson: Leaving Wolves best thing that happened to me
Wolves academy graduate Stephen Gleeson says being released by the club was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Irish midfielder Gleeson recently signed for Wolves' opponents on Saturday, Ipswich Town, following his exit from Birmingham after almost four years at St Andrew's.
The 29-year-old could make his home debut against his old club at Portman Road after coming off the bench in last week's 1-1 draw at Bolton.
He played only five times for Wolves after being given his break by Mick McCarthy but it was McCarthy who made the decision to release Gleeson in 2009, the summer Wolves won promotion to the Premier League.
However after being reunited with his former boss, Gleeson says he certainly bears no grudges over that decision.
“I grew up watching Mick as Ireland manager and I was taken aback by his presence," Gleeson told TWTD.co.uk.
“Then I had him as my manager at Wolves, which was just brilliant. I’ve said it a lot of times, that without him knowing it he is probably the biggest influence on my career.
“I wasn’t quite good enough for the Championship at Wolves and when they moved up to the Premier League it gave me that kick up the backside that I needed to go and play football. I think it was a good thing that he did for me and I’ll always thank him for that.
“Him saying I wasn’t good enough for the Championship wasn’t nice to hear at the time. But it was the brutal, honest truth and it was probably what I needed at that young age. Looking back now, probably about 400 games on, it’s the best thing that has happened to me.
“We haven’t talked about it since I came here last week and he’s probably forgotten about it. But it will always stick in my mind and it definitely motivated me.
“I was young and I didn’t have experience but the amount of games I’ve played since moving on from Wolves has been amazing.
“When I first came over from Ireland I probably wasn’t thinking I would do that well.”
