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When Terry Connor was announced as the interim manager of Wolverhampton, I was, like many other pundits, left bemused.
This appointment was even more confusing after Wolves chief executive Jez Mozey had initially stipulated that serious candidates would need proven Premier League managerial experience.
Unfortunately the Wolves board must have forgotten this important stipulation when naming Connor, who has never coached a professional football club.
I may have supported this appointment had Connor been an assistant at a higher-placed Premier League club. However, selecting a man who had a large part in what Wolves chairman Steve Morgan thought was a sinking ship should never have been interviewed, let alone selected.
Why choose an assistant coach who obviously provided former manager Mick McCarthy with advice and tactics that were failing? Did Steve Morgan truly believe Connor would provide anything drastically different to that being offered by McCarthy?
Yes, Connor did get a positive result in his first game in charge against Newcastle but that has been as positive as it gets. The players would probably have wondered why McCarthy was sacked in the first place if Connor was going to be his replacement.
If Wolves wanted to have a better chance of surviving relegation, they needed to hire a manager who had fresh ideas and great motivational skills. Ironically, it was heavily reported that former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce and former West Ham boss Alan Curbishley had both been interviewed for the position.
How neither was signed up in favour of Connor is beyond me. Curbishley would have been perfect for the position given his exceptional job at Charlton and rescue mission at West Ham.
Staring at relegation in the 2006-2007 Premier League season, Curbishley led West Ham to seven wins out of their final nine fixtures to stave off the drop. Curbishley ticked both boxes Wolves required, Premier League and relegation experience, yet Connor was appointed.
Now destined for the Championship, Wolves and their fans can only wonder what might have happened had Steve Morgan appointed a proven Premier League manager.
I am certain it would have seen a greater fighting effort.
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