The former Aston Villa manager has taken over at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Kevin Thelwell has explained the decision to appoint Paul Lambert as Wolverhampton Wanderers’s new boss, via BBC West Midlands.
Lambert was hired as Walter Zenga’s successor on Saturday, six months after the Scot left Blackburn Rovers of his own accord.
According to Thelwell, Lambert, who was available at the time of Zenga’s appointment in July, was the first candidate Wolves spoke to following the Italian’s departure.
And the Wolves sporting director says it would have been ‘a bit daft’ to look much further than Lambert, given his achievements at previous clubs Norwich City and Aston Villa.
“He’s a guy that’s got huge experience, strong experience, to get a team promoted and keep them in Premier League with Norwich,” said Thelwell. “Despite what people say I think he did an excellent job at Aston Villa, keeping them in Premier League for the time that he did.
“(He’s got a) strong passion for the game. I think there’s a clear synergy between how he believes the game should be played and how we want to see the game played here at Wolves. Of course he was available, and when there’s a guy with his level of experience and knowledge it’s a bit daft to look much further.”
Having led Norwich to back-to-back promotions before keeping them in the top flight, Lambert moved to Aston Villa where he finished 15th two years in a row.
However, by the February of his final season, Villa were 18th in the table and the former Celtic midfielder was sacked in favour of Tim Sherwood – another name thought to have been in contention at Molineux.
Sherwood lasted a mere eight months at Villa Park, with Wolves’ West Midlands rivals relegated last season.
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