Express & Star

Kenny Hibbitt: I’d love to play in this Wolves midfield

Wolves legend Kenny Hibbitt says he’d love to play with Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho – and thinks the current team are definitely here to stay in the Premier League.

Published

Hibbitt was part of a Wolves era that included two League Cup successes at Wembley, a Uefa Cup final appearance and several top half finishes in the top flight.

He made more than 550 appearances in the Wolves midfield and is the club’s second highest appearance maker of all time, behind Derek Parkin.

For all Wolves’ success during his time, Hibbitt would love to play in the current XI.

“Watching them now, they’re playing with so much passion,” he said.

“I’d love to be out there playing with Neves and Moutinho, with the ball zipping around.

“They’re playing with bags of confidence.”

As for comparing Hibbitt’s seventies team with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, Hibbitt thinks that’s a tricky task.

“It’s a different game,” he added. “It’s very difficult to compare us – surfaces are different, the entirety of the game is different. We had some very, very good players though. We must have had good players to win cups.”

Wolves are sat ninth in the Premier League after an impressive start to the season which has seen them lose only two games from nine.

Hibbitt is convinced Wolves are set for a long stay in the top flight.

“You’ve got to enjoy it and I’ll think they’ll be enjoying it a lot longer than the last time they were in the Premier League, and the time before,” he added.

“We’ve got good owners, fantastic owners who mean business, a great manager and coaching staff and some fantastic players.

“When they’re talking about a 60,000 all-seater, we know we’re going to be around for a long time.

“I hope we can keep progressing and dominate the Premier League; get into Europe; win cups.

“We’re Wolves and I think we’re back, big time.

“For me, as an ex-player, it’s as exciting as it is for everybody else.”

The 67-year-old attended the recent victory over Southampton and said he was blown away by the positivity surrounding the club at the moment.

“I was in Wolverhampton before the Southampton game and I’ve never seen the town buzz so much – every street, every pub,” Bradford-born Hibbitt said.

“The fans have stuck together, stuck with Wolves, and now they’re getting up on a Saturday morning and they’re excited about getting results.

“They players are coming out with real strength and ability and they just look the team, for me.

“There’s not many teams who’ll like playing against us.”