Last season the Wolves Women were locked in a fierce battle for promotion to the second tier of the Women’s Super League. Going into the final matchday they still held a mathematical chance of finishing above the league leaders, Nottingham Forest. The players, however, were unaware that their efforts were ultimately in vain. The reason lay in an administrative oversight: the club’s promotion application, which had to be submitted in February, had never been filed.

Although the team met every sporting and infrastructural criterion, the board deemed the demands of a full‑time programme too great at that time. Even head coach Dan McNamara only learned of the missing paperwork after the season had ended. When the squad gathered in the dressing room following a hard‑won second‑place finish, the news was delivered.

For captain Anna Morphet the memory remains painful. “It was a shock, complete disbelief. A flood of emotions. I didn’t know what to say, so I said very little and just tried to absorb it,” she recalled.

In the days that followed, several players took to social media to voice their frustration. One spoke of feeling let down, another insisted they deserved better treatment. The outcry centred on a perceived lack of transparency and support from the club hierarchy, turning the episode into a wake‑up call for the organization.

Fast forward a year, and the Wolves are once again on the cusp of promotion. The overdue application has finally been lodged, and the atmosphere around the club has shifted dramatically. Morphet describes the previous year’s crisis as “an incredibly tough moment” but also as a galvanising experience. “Those kinds of moments bring you closer together.

You look around and realise how special this group is and the characters within it. If we hadn’t built that closeness before learning the news, I don’t think we would have come through as strongly as we have,” she said.

She also expressed empathy for McNamara, who had to be the bearer of bad news. “For Macca, who has poured his heart into this club for years, to be the one to tell us – I know he would never shift the responsibility to anyone else – I can’t imagine how hard that was for him.” McNamara, visibly moved when recalling that night, described it as “one of the toughest things I have ever had to say.” A former Royal Air Force serviceman, he drew on his military background to navigate the leadership test.

“When I first got the news I was emotional. Part of me wanted to tell the girls immediately and let everything explode, hoping they would simply quit the final games. Instead I kept the information to myself until after the season finale.” He explained the decision to wait: “We wanted the players to savour the moment they had earned before we brought them back down to earth.

If we had shattered their joy right away, it would have been horrific.” McNamara admits he never imagined returning to Wolves after that episode. “I just couldn’t walk away from the girls.

They asked, ‘Should we give the club another chance? Do we really want to go elsewhere?’ The consensus was to stay together.” The question then was whether the team would dissolve or use the adversity as a stepping stone. “Thankfully, it’s been the latter,” McNamara asserts.

One year later the promotion race is a single game away, and this time the club is fully prepared. Wolves have now won 20 of their 22 league fixtures in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division, topping the scoring charts.

Yet automatic promotion has still eluded them, as they finished a point behind Burnley. “We do feel a little hard‑done‑by,” McNamara admits, “but the overriding feeling is pride in how the team responded. They have performed unbelievably well despite disrespect and adversity, representing the club and the city with distinction.” Chairperson Jenny Wilkes, a local radio personality who joined the club in 1999 at the invitation of Wolves legend John Richards, describes the journey as “a roller‑coaster.” She founded a limited company, secured sponsorships with help from former England cricketer Rachel Heyhoe‑Flint, and witnessed the evolution of women’s football from its grassroots roots.

She reminisces about the early days: “One player’s dad worked in road‑working machinery and would bring his equipment to flatten a huge divot in the middle of the pitch until it became sand – that’s the kind of pitch we played on back then.” She adds, “Players had to pay their own subscriptions, the captain collected cash on training nights, and we even had to fight just to buy kits at cost price.” Those hardships have given way to a more professional environment. “Things are very different now. We are the closest we have ever been to promotion, and the club’s outlook has changed. I work closely with technical director Matt Jackson, and our communication is far better,” Wilkes notes.

Wilkes has seen near‑misses before – a promotion bid halted by the pandemic and a play‑off defeat to Southampton – and of course the gut‑wrenching disappointment of the previous season. Yet she believes the club is on the brink of a transformative breakthrough. Promotion to the Women’s Super League 2 would mean a shift to full professionalism, a dream for many of the players. McNamara acknowledges the logistical challenge: “If we gain promotion we have a very short timeframe to overhaul the entire club structure.” For the squad, the prospect of playing a part in turning their dreams into reality is priceless.

“To be able to help them achieve their aspirations would mean the world to me,” he says. Morphet herself was among the first three women to sign a semi‑professional contract with Wolves, but she still works several days a week as a physiotherapist.

The possibility of a fully professional contract would be seismic for her and her teammates. “We know it can be life‑changing,” she says. Reflecting on the journey, Morphet adds, “When you look at where we are now, it feels crazy that we got here, but thankfully we have emerged in a completely different light.” After eight years and nearly 200 appearances, the club has become her “home away from home.” The sacrifices she and her colleagues have made – balancing a day job with professional‑level training – could finally be rewarded.

“I always knew deep down that without a few sacrifices I would never give myself the best chance to achieve the full‑time dream,” she explains. “The amount of sacrifice we have all put in makes you feel that something good must be on the horizon.” That horizon is now within reach. Wolves Women face Plymouth on Monday at the Pirelli Stadium in Burton, with a place in WSL 2 at stake for the winner.

After another roller‑coaster season, Morphet, McNamara, Wilkes and the entire squad deserve to savour the moment when it finally arrives.