Wolverhampton still the place Steve Bull loves all these years later

It's been 36 years since Steve Bull first set foot at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, but the Wolves legend still has a boyish smile and a humble nature when he talks about the city and what it's done for him.

He said: "Wolverhampton means the world to me even now after so long here as the people are absolutely down to earth as they roll their sleeves up, do a hard day's graft and then go to the match in the evening.

"They are proper people who took me to their hearts when I first came here, and I have always thought that from the first day I stepped out at Molineux to almost 36 years later.

"I'm a vice-president at the club and I absolutely love the club and call it my second home, so I know that wherever I go, I get looked after and I count myself as very lucky."

In his 13-year career at Wolves, Bull made 474 appearances, scored 306 goals, including 18 hat-tricks, and also scored four times in 13 appearances for England, scoring on his debut against Scotland in 1989.

He said he carries a lot of fond memories from his playing days and said he was always thankful for moments in time and the people who helped him along the way.

He said: "I still pinch myself after all this time for the great people I met over the years, like Bobby Robson, Gazza, Bryan Robson and Nobby Stiles, and the experiences I had, like my fourth placed medal from the 1990 World Cup.

"I have to thank Ron Saunders for a lot of what's happened, as he sold me from West Bromwich Albion. I never chose to leave there, and I could have been scoring all of those goals for them, so it's their loss.

"He told me I didn't have first touch for that level, yet I'm playing for England three years later, so someone clearly got that wrong and I count myself as very lucky."

Since retiring as a player due to knee injuries in 1999, he has been made an MBE, and a freeman of Wolverhampton and also had a stand named after him at Molineux, a ground he still calls one of the best in the country.

He said: "People come to me and say to me that in this day and age, it looks dated and old and I tell them that they should have been there in 1986 when there was water dripping on the floor.

"We have a modern looking Stan Cullis stand and it would be great if all the stands looked like that, but I think we have a very magnificent stadium which does the job for what our fans want.

"We also have a great team and I think Raul Jimenez is a really good guy and a great striker, so I hope he keeps up scoring the goals at Wolves."

Part of Steve's life since retiring has been his charity work with his foundation, as well as helping other charities, with around 100 people recently attending 'An Evening with Steve Bull' at the Robin 2 in Bilston for Support Futures.

Bull said it meant a lot to be able to give back and spoke about how fortunate he had been over the years.

He said: "I've been very lucky in life with myself and my family and haven't had to deal with any serious illnesses, so I like to be able to give something back in case anything does happen.

"I've seen people lying on the ground and being helped by the Air Ambulance and thinking to myself 'I need to donate to that' and that's how I've been brought up living in Tipton.

"You look after what you've got, look after the pennies and the pounds and make sure your shoes are clean, and I will never change from that and I have my dad to thank for bringing me up right."

Steve was also keen to see more investment in Wolverhampton after the city was announced as one of the 20 areas of the city benefitting from the Levelling Up White Paper by the government.

He said: "The city needs it, as it's been on something of a downward slope for a long time, with shops shutting and people leaving, so we need to pick the city up.

"They're saying that they're going to get investment in, so let's get the money in to get things started up and bring the city back to the way it was in the 1990s, when I used to go nightclubbing in it and drinking in the bars.

"This city has great names such as Robert Plant, Suzy Perry and Beverley Knight, and I know they'd love to see the city open up to more people."

Steve Bull has the stand named after him, the foundation he runs and the love and support of Wolves supporters across the world and had a message to all those people who had supported him over the years.

He said: "I just want to say a big thank you, as you have looked after me and I've looked after you all throughout the years and it's been a great partnership.

"That's not just with the people in Wolverhampton, but across the Black Country and the Midlands, everyone has looked after me over the years.

"If I go into a pub now, people will offer to buy me a drink and I'll always insist I'll buy them a drink instead, so it's nice to have that wonderful partnership.

"If you cut me open, I would bleed gold and black, although there would be a little bit of red and white from my little finger as I was a boyhood Liverpool fan!"