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Nuno Espirito Santo loved the sand between his toes as a kid born into the beach life – and Wolves fans reckon Nuno’s brought the sunshine with him.

It’s has been a one-way ride to good times since the Portuguese coach pitched up at Molineux just over two years ago.

Nuno’s own humble ­beginnings on a paradise isle off the west coast of Africa might appear to be a world away from the gritty ­earthiness of the west ­Midlands – but those sunny days came to an abrupt end.

The surroundings may have been exotic, but the beauty of his home was soon forgotten as his family were uprooted in political turmoil.

(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Perhaps it was that­ that gave Nuno his famously ­ferocious work ethic.

He was brought up on the former Portuguese colony of Sao Tome and Principe, a set of islands off the west coast of Africa.

And the Wolves boss recalled: “It was a little ­paradise. I remember the beach, walking bare-foot.

“I remember my ­grandmother and my aunties cooking on the beach and all eating on the sand. But after a coup we left Sao Tome and I went to live with relatives in the district of Barreiro [near Setubal in Portugal].

“There was no longer that ­freedom of going out without danger. In Sao Tome there weren’t even any cars – when we left the house we had our feet in the sand.

“When we moved to the ­mainland, I found myself closed up in a flat. That shocked me a bit.”

(Image: PA)

An essentially private man, ­Espirito Santo, 45, scorns media-led attention and devotes his time ­entirely to Wolves.

His family have remained, for the most part, back in Portugal.

He was seen waving to them last season, high in the stands at ­Wembley, within minutes of his ­promoted side having shocked hosts ­ Tottenham 3-1.

But asked about them afterwards, he politely refused to answer.

He is far happier talking tactics than about life outside the game.

He did once speak of a place where he goes to relax, a hillside overlooking the sea in Setubal.

But he prefers to talk work. And football is work. It has been ever since he realised that a career as a substitute goalkeeper was not going to ever evolve into superstardom.

(Image: Getty Images)

Nuno said: “I am going to be ­honest with you. I was a goalkeeper, but through my career I spent as much time sitting on the bench as playing.

“But this gave me two views, that is two ­perspectives.

“This allowed me to see the game, to see space, to see everything. It helped me in the way that I understand football now.

“My idea to be a coach came late. When you realise the ball is faster than you, you say to yourself, ‘OK, I love the game, I want to go on in this game, but not as a player.’

“That is when I started to really think about the game – to learn from it. I spent two or three years in that process of really trying to get inside football and look at my future.”

He arrived in the Black Country with success at Valencia under his belt, and a stint in the Champions League with Porto that did not end so well.

(Image: Getty Images)

It was a beautiful summer’s day when he was unveiled at Molineux in 2017 and the new man was ­nothing if not confident in his own ability, saying, “When I have worked with these players, you will all see what will happen.”

The assembled media had heard this all before, not 12 months ­previously, from the lips of the ­hapless Walter Zenga.

But Espirito Santo was proved right. He moved into a flat just around the corner from the Wolves training complex, and he grafted.

“I cannot tell you much about ­living in England,” Nuno said.

“I arrive at work at 8.30-9am. Me and my staff, we train, we stay until three or four o’clock, we go home and have dinner together.

“We live to work. If it was for the pleasure of living, you would not be a manager, for sure.”

Maybe not. But at the moment, the pleasure is all Wolves’.