By Scott Cooper
July 21 2006

WOLVERHAMPTON Wanderers will begin a new era on Monday morning as the club - as mentioned here on Wednesday - finally confirmed that former Sunderland and Ireland boss Mick McCarthy would take over at Wolves.

Wolves have been on the hunt for a new manager since the shock resignation of Glenn Hoddle just under three weeks ago and the manager-less reign will end on Monday morning when former Sunderland, Republic of Ireland and Millwall boss Mick McCarthy officially starts work at Molineux.

The announcement was made this morning by Chief Executive Jez Moxey, who was delighted they had finally got the man they believe can take Wolves forward.

"We are thrilled to have agreed a deal for Mick to take over as manager of Wolves. He has all the qualities we were looking for in a manager and has an excellent record of football achievement." Jez Moxey told the clubs official website.

"I thought the job he did at Sunderland in taking them to 3rd in the Championship in 2003/04 following relegation and then winning promotion as Champions in 2004/05 was one of the most impressive managerial jobs I have seen in this division."

Mick McCarthy has also asked the club to dispose of current assistant Stuart Gray, Chief Scout George Foster and scout/coach and brother of the former manager, Carl Hoddle.

McCarthy will bring in Ian Evans as his assistant and a new Chief Scout and the new boss told the clubs official website today "I'm delighted to be joining Wolves,"

"There's a big job to do at Molineux and I'm relishing the challenge. I can't wait to get down to work. With just two weeks to go before the start of the season there's lots to be done. It's going to be a busy but exciting time."

The decision to give the job to McCarthy is an interesting one, especially given the fans huge hopes that Paul Ince would be given the job. Stuart Gray also put his name forward and Moxey was quick to pay tribute to both.

"People are obviously aware that both Stuart and Paul Ince applied for the job and I'd like to pay tribute to them both," Moxey told WOW

"We were really impressed with Paul. He came across very positively and given different circumstances we could easily have offered him the job. He has got qualities that will make him a great manager in the future. He has been a great servant to the club and he is hugely popular with Wolves supporters, and so the idea of appointing him as manager is one that we were keen to explore, and as I say, he could easily have got the job were circumstances different."

"I'd also like to pay tribute to Stuart who has performed exceptionally well from the moment he walked into the club. He is a great professional. Again, under different circumstances he could have been offered the job. However, we do feel that he might not have received the support from fans that he would have deserved and required."

Mick McCarthy is currently finishing a holiday in Portugal and will check in at Molineux first thing on Monday morning for what we hope will be a new long and successful era for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Mick McCarthy