Kenny Jackett can lead Wolves back to Premier League, says legend Kenny Hibbitt
Kenny Jackett was today backed to manage Wolves back to the top after legend Kenny Hibbitt called for him to be given "a minimum two years" in the job if they secure promotion.
Jackett has rebuilt a broken club in disarray after successive relegations by weeding out the higher-earning under-achievers and replaced them with a series of astute signings hungry for success and keen to engage with the fanbase.
And double League Cup winner Hibbitt, the club's second-highest appearance maker of all time, believes promotion should earn Jackett a long-term stay in the hotseat.
Hibbitt has an inside track on the Wolves head coach's work from ex-striker Gary Penrice, who he had at Bristol Rovers before he went on to play with and under Jackett at Watford in two spells at Vicarage Road.
"Kenny deserves to be given a minimum two years because he will get us out of this division and then they have to reward him for that, without going overboard," said the 63-year-old.
"I think he could be at Wolves for a long time.
"With his experience he has time now to produce a really good side and at Wolves he has the platform to take the club a long way.
"It's still a long haul and he knows there's a lot of hard work still to be done.
"But he's got the backing of great facilities, a fantastic ground and most of all that support from the fans, and, if he can continue to win games, he will get support from every angle.
"He now has a great opportunity to get his career right to the top at Wolves."
Hibbitt added: "When he took over, a lot of work needed doing off the pitch.
"There were a lot of players who had come down from the Premier League, but he's dealt with everything very well.
"He didn't promise anything when he came in apart from to build a hardworking team and to do his best.
"He's wheeled and dealed and lost the players he didn't want to keep and you have to give him full credit for the job he's done with the problems that were there."
Hibbitt said Penrice gave him an insight into Jackett's efficiency.
"Gary always talked very highly of Kenny," he said.
"He said he was a players' man who knew how to get the best out of you because he had such good man-management skills, which is vital to be successful.
"He's also a very good coach and reads the opposition very well – he knows how to set his team up and make adjustments to combat the opposition too and he has a great work ethic."
