Out of darkness cometh light, is the motto for the city of Wolverhampton and, right now, the glare from Molineux is illuminating. Wolves are in the grip of a revolution under head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, top of the table and producing breathtaking entertainment that has earned the tag, the Manchester City of the Championship.

They will face neighbours Birmingham on Monday night on the back of five successive victories, with awestruck supporters daring to dream of a Premier League return for the first time since 2012.

Wolves are battling valiantly to keep a lid on it all and at the heart of this transformation is Nuno, the former goalkeeper who was competing in the Champions League last season with Porto and loves a post-match cigarette, win or lose.

From the first day of training in June, Wolves’ players knew things were never going to be the same again. “We knew what we were going to face, the players we had and the players we wanted,” says Nuno, sitting in a small room at the club’s Compton base. “We then put it together into one philosophy. We started building from there and it’s not perfect, not done yet.

“We still have a long way to go, everyone in this building knows every day is important. I’m not surprised with how well it has gone, more pleased. But we don’t get distracted, we cannot allow it.”