By Scott Cooper
May 20 2005

IN the gold half of the Black Country the name "Dave Jones" will be greeted with a smile. However now the former Wolves boss could be on the verge of a move to Cardiff.

It was Dave Jones who once promised the Molineux board "Premiership football" and he's the only man in the history of Wolves' to have so far delivered.

Dave Jones was sacked in November of last year. Results had finally turned against him, the players refused to play with pride and a spirit sapping collapse against a Gillingham side which played against Wolves for 80 minutes with ten men was to be the straw that was to break the camels back.

“I don’t give a damn how Glenn does at Molineux,” said Jones recently “My only problem with him is everywhere I go, he stalks me.” He has a point.

It was the foundations that Jones had built at Southampton which Hoddle took on and continued to build before moving to Spurs. Now the former England manager is at Molineux, once again building on the foundations Jones had laid and guiding his side to just one defeat in 26 games.

Time has moved on now however and it's no longer time to look back with "What ifs". It's true that Jones would probably still be manager had his side not missed 9 out of 12 penalties in a bizarre run at the beginning of the season. "I can't put the ball in the back of the net" was always his motto but Jones may be on the verge of signing for another club.

Reports today suggest Dave Jones had been seen having secret meetings with the suits at Cardiff but the Welsh Club have refused to comment on the rumours.

“For the supporters’ sakes, I’d love to see Wolves back up there" Jones told the Times. "Seeing their faces, as we were getting into the play-offs, into the  Premiership, they were in heaven. I said I’d get them up and I did. No one can take that away from me.

“I never said anything about keeping them there, mind,” he said with a smile.