Nuno Espirito Santo struck up a strong bond with his players during his time at Molineux, with one Wolves star in particular being loved by the Portuguese.
There aren’t many managers held in higher esteem at Molineux than Espirito Santo, having helped guide Wolves from Championship regulars to European contenders.
Wolves are now thriving under Vitor Pereira, but it has taken time to recover from the mistake of letting Nuno go in 2021.
Nuno was loved by his Wolves players during his four-year stint, and the Portuguese seemed to strike a strong relationship with several of his players, particularly Matt Doherty.
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Matt Doherty was Nuno Espirito Santo’s ‘teacher’s pet’
Once a flying wing-back under Nuno, Doherty has revived his Wolves career as a right centre-back this campaign.
Doherty is loving life under Pereira, and it seems like having a good relationship with his manager seems to be essential for the Irishman.
This was the case under Nuno, with the defender having a close bond with the Portuguese boss before departing for Spurs in 2020.
The pair’s footballing relationship would often lead to jokes from teammates, with Conor Coady even labelling Doherty a ‘teacher’s pet’ in an interview with Soccer AM in 2018.
“Matt Doherty, him and the gaffer have got this weird relationship where they do things and they have a bit of a laugh together. They are both into golf, so they have good chats about golf, and Doc (Doherty) always pulls him to chat about golf.”
Coady, however, wasn’t the only one to highlight the pair’s bond, with Ruben Neves also firing jokes in a separate 2019 interview with Soccer AM.
“I will say Matt Doherty. He always gives him (Nuno) hugs and everything – yeh Matt Doherty.
“The gaffer normally asks him for a hug, I don’t know why.”
Doherty is a huge fan of Nuno
Despite being the butt of his teammates’ jokes, Doherty hasn’t been afraid to show his admiration for his former manager.
Speaking after Nuno’s appointment as Tottenham boss, the Irishman told the Spurs website.
“I’ve said over the years that I’ve nothing but praise for Nuno, he’s a world-class coach and his backroom staff are world-class as well, and I maintain that, that doesn’t change and we’re very fortunate to have him here,” said Doherty.
“We had a good relationship at Wolves. He had an immediate impact, winning the league (Championship) with 99 points in the first season and then going back-to-back seventh place finishes and getting into Europe.
“He’s had nothing but success so far in England and with the set-up, facilities and quality of player we have here, I’m sure it will be successful for him.”