Stale Solbakken named shock new Wolves manager

Unknown Norwegian Stale Solbakken was today confirmed as the shock new manager of Wolves.

The 44-year-old – who is almost unheard of in this country – will be officially unveiled as Mick McCarthy's full-time successor at the newly-relegated club on Monday.

Solbakken, who made his name coaching in Denmark, will take over at Wolves on July 1 charged with the task of getting the club out of the Championship and back in to the Premier League.

He is Wolves first-ever foreign manager and will be seen by fans as a massive gamble because of his lack of experience of the English game.

Solbakken played a handful of matches for Wimbledon in 1997 but otherwise has made little impression on football in this country. Current Wolves boss Terry Connor, who has failed to produce a single win in his 12 games in charge, will remain as part of the backroom staff.

Solbakken's main achievements have come in Denmark at Copenhagen, who he managed to five league titles and a cup success from late 2005 to last June.

Before that, he managed Norwegian club Ham-Kam and agreed to take over as Norway's head coach last June only to join German club Cologne instead. His spell in Germany lasted less than a year.

Capped by Norway 58 times with nine goals, he represented his country at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championships but was forced to quit after suffering a cardiac arrest on the training pitch.

See more coverage of Wolves' appointment on our sister paper Express & Star