The club are waiting to tie up the deal for the 51-year-old but expect to complete the formalities of what will be a landmark appointment within the next 24 hours.

Jackett, the former Swansea and Millwall manager, will be the club's first head coach following the decision to re-shape the football management structure at Molineux.

He will be charged with the dual task of beginning the recovery from the double-season disaster of successive relegations and leading a re-vamp of the club's coaching and playing style.

Although the silence from Molineux was deafening after mounting speculation about the vacancy, the delay in confirming Jackett's appointment is thought to be due to a number of factors.

It's understood Jackett, who has previous experience of this title at the start of his management career at Watford, had expressed reservations about the club's ability to service the switch to a head coach.

But it appears Wolves have been able to ease his doubts. He has also been interviewed by Sheffield United over their management vacancy.

And his arrival at Molineux is further complicated by the technicalities of his resignation from Millwall. It is claimed that under the terms of his previous contract, Jackett is still serving a notice period.

A new job within a year has activated a compensation clause. This, however, is only an administrative hold-up.

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After leading Millwall to the FA Cup semi-finals and Championship safety, Jackett resigned at the New Den in search of a fresh challenge.

He didn't realise that the sacking of Dean Saunders hours earlier would provide him with one.

He was the first "cab off the rank" as Wolves entrusted the initial task of sorting out a list of runners to head of football Kevin Thelwell.

Thelwell will now join forces alongside Jackett to shape a new future for a club from a League One starting position.

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In the 24 days which followed, Wolves have conducted a "rigorous" survey of candidates and are known to have twice interviewed Steve McClaren and Owen Coyle.

There has been continued speculation that Crewe's Steve Davis and latterly Brentford's Uwe Rosler were also contacted.

But the pace towards an appointment began to pick up yesterday when McClaren and the other unsuccessful candidates were contacted around midday to be told Wolves would not be pursuing their interest.

The decision to turn to Jackett will not be met with universal approval by a Molineux public which has registered record levels of dismay at the club's failings. Other candidates have been strongly favoured all along.

Former Bolton and Burnley boss Coyle was twice the runaway pick in our own polls, winning more than 44 per cent of the vote from more than 9,000 readers last week.

But both former England manager McClaren and the rising young Crewe boss Davis also figured more prominently.

Jackett, in contrast, polled just five per cent but his undemonstrative style and lack of profile in the region bely a solid managerial performance.

That has brought promotions at Swansea and Millwall, after cutting his teeth alongside Graham Taylor during Watford's back-to-back promotions at the turn of the Millennium.