Wolverhampton born chairman returning to Molineux for Wolves Women clash

When Wolves Women celebrate their crowning moment at Molineux tonight – their first time playing at the stadium in 20 years – not many people will have split loyalties, but Brighouse Town's chairman has a foot in both camps.

Born in Low Hill in Wolverhampton and a student at Heath Park High School, James had a difficult upbringing in his early years before moving North in search of pastures new.

"I left school with nothing, no GCSE's or anything, and eventually moved to Yorkshire in my 20s and built a number of successful companies here," he told the Express & Star.

"I'm a huge Wolves fan and I'm very proud of my background and heritage.

"I come from a single parent very deprived family and I have a lot of siblings, in the days when we had to rent the TV and put a pound into it to watch it and try to get Ceefax and Teletext to see the football results.

"I used to sneak into Molineux as a kid because we didn't have a lot of money growing up. We could never afford anything and as I got a bit older, in my early teens, we would try to sneak into Molineux – sometimes we got caught too.

"I grew up as a massive fan of Steve Bull, Andy Mutch and Andy Thompson – those are my heroes – so it's huge for me to come back to Molineux."

James bought Brighouse Town three years ago and has invested heavily in the women's team.

They were promoted to the National League Northern Premier Division at the same time as Wolves and their first league game facing each other will now be under the lights at Molineux as Wolves celebrate their title win.

"We played Wolves around three years ago and won in the FA Cup, which was a massive moment for me as a Wolves fan," he added.

"I've been counting down the days for us to play in the same league together and now we'll be giving them a guard of honour at Molineux – so it's very special.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think this game would be moved to Molineux under the lights – it just goes to show that it doesn't matter about your background or where you grew up, it's about having that drive and dream to better yourself.

"I still have a lot of family and friends in Wolverhampton so it's a big occasion for me personally and also for both clubs. Being a Wolves fan all my life, to come to Molineux and play Wolves as an opposing chairman is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Although the 36-year-old is looking forward to the occasion tonight, he also wants his side – who sit seventh in the division – to fight for the win.

"We want to come down and take the three points ultimately, but there's a lot of emotional attachment to the game being a Wolverhampton lad. It will be a massive and emotional day – it's a bit surreal," James said.

"I'm going back not just as a fan but with a bit of credibility now after my humble beginnings.

"Life has been very kind to me in Yorkshire but I never thought the team I own would play my boyhood club.

"To some extent there will always be split loyalties but I'm coming down as Brighouse Town owner so we want to win at Molineux."

Despite that, there is respect and admiration for what Wolves have achieved this season as they prepare for a play-off game to earn promotion to the Championship next month.

"Dan McNamara has done a great job at Wolves," James said.

"I hope they do earn promotion because it's well deserved, but I don't want them to get the three points against us – we don't want to disrupt the party, but coming to play at Molineux is a big occasion for us too.

"They deserve the guard of honour for what they've done. To get promotion to the Championship would be fantastic for the city, the community, for Dan and for the players.

"But we won't roll over on Wednesday night. The Wolves players will be up for it and it's a spectacle for all the players. We don't want to be made an example of because I won't hear the end of it!"