Paul Lambert – his final interview as Wolves boss?

Lambert has effectively been sacked already, the Express & Star understands, with Wolves lining up his successor before they make any announcement.

The Scot sat down with Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers for 10 minutes last Wednesday evening before the Birmingham Senior Cup final at Molineux.

Events since then have overtaken much of what Lambert said, but here we print the interview in full.

Tim Spiers: It’s the end of the season, the players have all gone, but for you the hard work must all be starting now, there’s no break?

Paul Lambert: No there’s nothing. We have to get lads in, hopefully that’ll take place.

To be fair there’s things already started, things are ongoing, hopefully they start to get moving.

TS: Does that mean you’ve got bids in already?

PL: Yeah we’ve spoken to some lads and watched a few abroad. We’ll see how it’s going to transpire.

TS: Have you got talks coming up as far as budget goes and what you can and can’t do this summer?

PL: I’ve spoken with Kevin (Thelwell) to see where we are as a club moving forward and I’ve spoken to a few players and seen a few games.

Things are moving on that front. It’s got to move. As I’ve said before the club has to move and we’ve got to be stronger as a squad and a team. When you speak when the season just ends then it’s a lot more healthy.

TS: And presumably you’re in regular dialogue with Jeff (Shi)? Obviously we haven’t seen him for a while.

PL: Aye, everything is moving and flowing, there’s not been any static.

As I’ve said to you before when you finish seventh or 20th, 19th, , it doesn’t really matter, it’s only being in that top six that really matters and staying out that bottom three.

To be successful you need to be in the top six and this club should be vying for it.

TS: Laurie (Dalrymple) has spent time out in China, are there any plans to take a trip out there to speak to Jeff and Fosun?

PL: There was talks about going there, you know. I’m flexible. There’s a dialogue at the minute, I know that, on and off the pitch, which is good.

The club is moving forward. I love it here, it’s an absolutely brilliant club. I love the way everything is about it.

We have to build it to be in a position to get out this division.

TS: Have you got the reassurances you want to hear for this summer?

PL: (pauses) Things are really moving, on and off the pitch. Obviously I’m being part of that, of trying to get players in that I think can do it.

Collectively Kevin and Laurie have been fantastic with us, they’ve been great – good guys to work for.

Obviously the club’s been bought over this last year. Everybody learns how to move it forward. As long as we’ve got a plan and we’re all moving in the right direction, staying on the same road, then you’ve got a really good chance to achieve something.

TS: You’ve spoken a lot about the number of players you want to bring in and ship out. What about the amount of money that’s going to be spent this summer? Obviously last summer there was a lot spent. Without asking for a number...

PL: What was it?

TS: Last summer it was £14m in the summer, an estimate, and then of course Costa was £13m in January...are we going to be seeing anything approaching that?

PL: The thing with Helder, nobody knew how he was going to do. Would he have been worth £13m if he never performed? Because the kid went and did his stuff...since I came in, because people told me he was in and out the side all the time and then since I came in he kicked in.

All the credit goes to him for doing it. Then he becomes £13m. What’s the value of a player now in the modern day game? Nobody knows. Everybody’s worth is what someone’s willing to pay. Nay problem.

With him kicking on the way he’s done, his level was extremely high. Whether the club spends that amount of money again, nobody knows.

It’s not about spending money all the time, it’s about getting a team, and building that team spirit and collectiveness and togetherness.

Money does help you to build a team but you also need people that are good players, good characters, good guys, fitting them all in together. If you start to have one or two bad ones that disrupt things it’s difficult.

All the successful dressing rooms I’ve been in had togetherness and would run through walls for each other.

I’ve had that as a player and as a manager, so I know exactly what it takes to get out the league.

All those things, the collectiveness and the spirit were fundamental and monumental to get us there.

That’s what we have to generate here. We get good players, good characters and lads that are willing to work and work and work and want to improve themselves.

TS: Which is more important than a mere transfer fee.

PL: Of course it is yeah.

TS: But equally you’ve got to have the financial muscle, particularly in the Championship these days.

PL: You look at the Championship now, Sunderland and Middlesbrough coming down, Villa are down, Norwich are down, Leeds are down, the play-off teams, Nottingham Forest who are a big club, Wolves is a big club, Derby is a big club.

The financial clout, because everyone wants to get to the golden goose up there. But it won’t always be the team with the most money.

If you look at Brighton, or even Burnley last year, Chris (Hughton) and Sean (Dyche) did fantastic with a really good group that knew what it was about.

Brighton just missed out last year but kept the continuity there and have tried it for a few years and eventually done it

Derby have been knocking at the door for a number of years.

It just shows you it’s not always about the money. It’s the right player, the right character, the right temperament, the right professionalism and willing to work and improve themselves.

You can never motivate an unmotivated player, never, it doesn’t matter how good a manager you are you’ll never motivate an unmotivated player.

And that’s why I said about the character of the players is really important for the club.

TS: Obviously it’s going to be a long summer with lots of decisions to make but there a few we’re expecting sooner, as in the guys that are out of contract and then you’ve got Stearman and Weimann...are we expecting decisions on those soon?

PL: Aye I’m pretty sure we will. Kevin will go into that. I spoke to all the lads yesterday and thanked them for their efforts.

They’ve been in great form. The start of the season as I said last night is vital for any club to come out of the traps. You do that, the momentum stays with you and you keep on going.

I think it’s important the club does hit the ground running this year rather than any uncertainty of what’s going on.

Kevin will sort out that side of it. We’ll have meetings to see...because the squad’s too big and needs to be trimmed as well, players out on loan, you can’t have the amount of players again.

TS: Just a couple of quick ones to finish – Ben Marshall wasn’t involved on Sunday...

PL: He’d been carrying a thigh strain for a long time. He wanted to keep playing through it. That’s great about Ben, for a right number of weeks we should have took him out but he wanted to keep playing.

There was no point risking him.

TS: And Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, we’ve spoken about him a few times. Obviously he’s gone back to Man United now. Fans are looking at it, he’s come from Man United, expected to do well there in the long term. Why do you think it hasn’t worked out?

PL: People think because you’re at a massive club, they automatically assume he’s the finished article.

He’s only a kid. It doesn’t matter if you’re at Manchester United, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich, you’re a kid and you’re still learning your trade and the ropes.

I spoke to him, Cameron’s a really nice guy, there’s no problem.

He perhaps found it a little bit more difficult than he thought. Forty-six games is gruelling. You’ve got to have Saturday-Tuesday, the Easter period and things like that, it goes ‘bang bang’ really quickly.

He just couldn’t get in. You go to any club in the world and you’ll find guys that are not playing.

But they’re equally as important as the ones already at the club,

The important thing for me is I love it here, it’s an absolutely brilliant club.

I love the way it is, I love the supporters and how passionate they are and, you saw it on Tuesday night, I had a good chat with Robert Plant, it’s absolutely different class.

You can see the power of the club. I love the way the club is, they way it is in the city. If I do get it right it can be...the thing is I’ve seen it, I’ve seen incredible nights and days here, you go through the FA Cup games, Villa and Newcastle when it was rammed, even the Fulham 4-4 and then Fulham away, you can go through a lot of games.

I know exactly what it can be like here. I love being at the club.

And with those last words the interview was finished, with Lambert heading off to watch the under-23s take on Leamington in the BSC final.

He seemed in good spirits and was as warm and convivial as ever, chuckling about the music being played in the players' lounge (where the interview was conducted) and keen to stress what an important summer lay ahead for the club.

The following day the news broke that his job was under threat – and almost a week on it seems his time at Wolves is at an end after just six months.