Last season, Wolves Women were on the brink of climbing into the second tier of the Women’s Super League, with a realistic mathematical chance of finishing above league leaders Nottingham Forest on the final matchday. What the squad did not realise was that their hard‑earned position was ultimately meaningless. The deadline for submitting a promotion application had been February, but the club missed it. Although the team satisfied every required criterion, the board deemed the demands of a full‑time programme too great and never filed the paperwork.
Even head coach Dan McNamara was unaware of the omission until after the season concluded. The news was delivered in the dressing room after Wolves secured second place.
Captain Anna Morphet described the moment as a painful memory: “It was a shock, complete disbelief. A flood of emotions. I didn’t know what to say, so I said very little, just trying to process it.” In the days that followed, the players took to social media to voice their frustration.
Some spoke of feeling betrayed, others of believing they deserved better treatment. The outcry centred on a lack of transparency and insufficient support from the club’s hierarchy – a wake‑up call that forced the organisation to re‑evaluate its approach. Fast‑forward one year. Wolves are again poised on the edge of promotion, and this time the necessary application has been lodged.
Morphet reflects on the previous season’s “incredibly tough moment,” but she also sees it as a galvanising experience. “Those kinds of crises bring a squad closer together,” she says.
“When you look around you realise how special this group is and the characters within it. If we hadn’t built that closeness before the news broke, I don’t think we would have come through as strongly as we have.” Morphet also expressed empathy for McNamara, who was forced to be the bearer of bad news. “For Macca, who has poured his heart into this club for years, to have to deliver that message – I know he would never try to shift the blame onto anyone else.
I can’t imagine how hard that was for him.” McNamara, visibly emotional when recalling the episode, admitted it was one of the hardest things he’s ever had to say. A former Royal Air Force serviceman, he drew on his military background to steady himself during that leadership test. “When I first heard the news, I was gutted.
Part of me wanted to tell the girls immediately and watch the situation explode, maybe even see them skip the last few games of the season,” he confesses. “Instead, I kept the information to myself until after the final match.
We decided the players deserved to enjoy that moment together before we brought them back down to earth. If we had shattered their joy on the spot, it would have been horrendous.” He also reveals that he never imagined he would stay at Wolves again. “I could have walked away, but the girls said, ‘Should we give the club another chance? Do we really want to go elsewhere?’ The consensus was to stick together, and that’s what we did.” The question then loomed: would the team disintegrate, or would this become a watershed moment for Wolves Women?
“Thankfully it’s been the latter,” McNamara says. One year later, promotion is a single game away, and the club is finally prepared. Wolves have won 20 of their 22 fixtures in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division, leading the league in goals scored.
Yet that dominance was not enough for automatic promotion; they finished a point behind Burnley and missed the title on goal difference. “We do feel a little hard‑done‑by,” McNamara admits, but his overriding feeling is pride in the squad’s response. “They have performed unbelievably well, despite occasional disrespect and adversity.
They represent this club and this city with distinction.” Chairperson Jenny Wilkes, a local radio personality who joined the club in 1999 at the request of former chief executive John Richards, describes the journey as a roller‑coaster. She set up a limited company, secured sponsors with help from ex‑England cricketer Rachel Heyhoe‑Flint, and witnessed the evolution of women’s football from its humble roots. “One of the players’ dads worked in road‑building machinery and would bring his equipment down to fill a huge divot in the middle of the pitch with sand – that’s the kind of pitch we were playing on back then,” she recalls.
“Players paid their own subscriptions; the captain collected cash on training nights. We even had to fight to buy kits at cost price. It’s a completely different world now.” Wilkes notes that improved communication with technical director Matt Jackson has helped the club see things in a new light. “We’re in a much better place now, with clearer structures and stronger support.” The low point of last year could have been the catalyst for a new high.
Wilkes has endured near‑misses before – a promotion bid halted by the pandemic and a play‑off defeat to Southampton – and the disappointment of the previous season still stings. Nevertheless, the prospect of promotion to the second tier of the Women’s Super League would be transformative. It would usher in full professionalism for the squad. McNamara acknowledges the logistical challenge: “If we get promoted, we have an incredibly short window to overhaul the whole club structure.” For many players, that is the dream realized.
Morphet was among the first three women to sign a semi‑professional contract with Wolves, yet 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. “When you look at where we are now, it feels almost surreal, but we’ve emerged in a completely different light.” After eight years and nearly 200 appearances, Wolves Women have turned their former “home away from home” into a genuine professional environment.
Morphet reflects, “I knew deep down that I would never give myself the best chance to achieve the full‑time dream without making sacrifices. The amount of sacrifice we’ve all made tells me something good is on the horizon.” Now, with a crucial match against Plymouth at the Pirelli Stadium in Burton looming, the winner will secure a place in WSL 2. The roller‑coaster ride continues, but Morphet, McNamara, Wilkes and the entire squad deserve to savour the moment that finally feels earned.