'A class act' - remembering popular Wolves boss Kenny Jackett

Kenny Jackett was a class act.

Softly spoken at times, polite, charming and with a good sense of humour - but with a steely determination to win.

Jackett, who has sadly passed away this week at the age of 64, was a proper manager.

He arrived at Wolves in 2013 to find a club on the brink. Back-to-back relegations from the Premier League saw the club drop into the third tier and he inherited a dreadful culture and downward momentum left by outgoing boss Dean Saunders.

This great club was a laughing stock but Jackett restored pride and laid the foundations for Wolves’ future success.

He had a distinguished playing career in his own right with Watford and the Welsh national team before going on to manage successfully in the Football League.

After making 428 appearances for the Hornets, and 31 caps for Wales, he also had spells in charge of Millwall, Swansea, Rotherham, Portsmouth and Leyton Orient.

His final role in the game was as director of football at Gillingham before he stepped down for medical reasons in November 2024.

His first job at Wolves was to stop the rot of the previous regime and some tough decisions were made in omitting some first team players, to build a squad capable of getting back to the Championship.

But Jackett did much more than that - he build one of the greatest League One sides of all time and took the title by storm.

A record-breaking 103 points saw Wolves win the league in impressive fashion. Jackett was the man that brought Wolves back from the brink at a time when they needed inspired leadership.

It was a season full of highs with the late season 6-4 win over Rotherham standing out.

And who can forget ‘10K to MK’? On March 29, 2014 thousands of Wolves fans travelled to MK Dons to see Liam McAlinden’s late header win the game 1-0, to take Wolves six points clear at the top of the table and a step closer to the title.

After two terrible seasons, they were golden times.

Back in the Championship the following season, Wolves just missed out on the play-offs by goal difference as Nouha Dicko, Benik Afobe and Bakary Sako ran riot in attack.

“It’s magic, you know...”

Pride had been restored, Wolves were back on the up and although Jackett never got them to the Premier League before leaving in 2016, he played a big role in getting them back on track at a time when they needed calm, composed and intelligent guidance.

Even when he was sacked just eight days after Fosun bought Wolves, Jackett acted with class and dignity.

He departed without fuss and with an appreciation for the success he had achieved.

In years gone by, he has returned to Wolverhampton for the occasional function or event and has always spoken glowingly of the club, the fans and his time in charge.

Fosun’s investment and Nuno Espirito Santo’s job in the dugout got Wolves to the promised land, but without Jackett’s work from 2013, Wolves may never have enjoyed their resurgence.

He leaves a legacy at Wolves as the man that started the club’s fightback before golden memories in the latter stages of the Europa League.

The measure of any man is the impression he leaves. For everyone at Wolves during his tenure, he was known as a gentleman and a winner.

Our thoughts go out to his wife Samantha, sons David and Ryan and the rest of his family and friends at this difficult time.