Carl Ikeme - Wolves wait was worth it

And there can barely be a more appropriate adage when it comes to analysing Carl Ikeme's Wolves career.

Ikeme joined the club as a 15-year-old, when Dave Jones was still manager. But it wouldn't be until 2013 when Ikeme, then 27, would finally become the undisputed Wolves' number one - quite the wait.

But with Ikeme you feel he'll take it in his stride. After all, he's been preparing for this for years.

"I'm settled here, I've been here since I was 15 so it's a club that's close to me and I'm grateful for what I've had since I've been here," Ikeme told the Express & Star.

"Wolves are ambitious and I'm ambitious.

"People say you don't get into your prime until you start your 30s, or even mid 30s with some keepers, so hopefully I've got plenty of years to come."

Wolves have been blessed with some exceptional keepers in recent years, with Matt Murray and Wayne Hennessey keeping Ikeme on the fringes of the first team for the best part of a decade.

At times he has been the forgotten man at Molineux. For years a reliable back-up who looked as though he'd never quite make that step up to become Wolves' number one. And nine loan spells with eight different clubs had Ikeme wondering if his time would ever come.

"It was tough going out on loan. I always wanted to be here. It was a good thing as I got to play games but at the time it seemed like I was getting shipped out again.

"I always believed I was good enough to play for Wolves, it was just whether that opportunity would come.

"You spend a lot of time in hotels and away from home which isn't ideal. But it was a means to an end, I knew I needed experience for people to trust me as a goalkeeper.

"I just knew I would get that opportunity again at Wolves and luckily I did and I've ended up playing ever since."

Spells at Leicester City, QPR and Middlesbrough gave him a taste of Championship football and in all Ikeme played 50 games on loan.

And while frustrating, Ikeme felt the experience toughened him up - and it's one he'd advise any young goalkeeper to do, especially if they've got to fill the shoes of the likes of Murray, Hennessey and Michael Oakes when they return to Wolves, as Ikeme did.

"We've always had good keepers here and it seems the production line is still going," he said.

"It's an honour filling those shoes. Matt, Wayne and Oakesy were all people I worked with and learned from.

"Being on loan isn't like in the reserves. You're playing for three points, managers are fighting for their jobs, people are fighting for relegation or promotion, you fight for a cause.

"Yes you'll make the odd mistake but it's all part of the learning curve for when you come back to Wolves."

Ikeme has high hopes for his younger counterparts - yoga partner (!) Aaron McCarey, Jon Flatt and Harry Burgoyne.

He speaks of his delight at McCarey being available to play again after his failed drug test saga came to a conclusion - and also of disappointment at 'big character' Tomasz Kuszczak leaving for Birmingham.

Kuszczak's departure makes Ikeme the most senior keeper at the club and it's a role he will embrace, imparting advice and experience to his younger counterparts in what he described as a friendly rival for the Wolves' number one spot.

"It's something I've always done, along with Pat I'm constantly speaking to the young lads," Ikeme said.

"I see the potential in them and I want them to have a career and play for Wolves. Just not too soon!

As well as his personal ambition of being in the Premier League with Wolves, Ikeme also harbors hopes of an international call-up.

The Solihull-born keeper has declared his international allegiance to Nigeria.

And although a World Cup ("you never know", Ikeme says with a smile) might not be on the horizon just yet, Ikeme hopes that Nigeria call comes one day.

"If I can keep playing well for Wolves hopefully that call will come.

"It's not my choice, if it was my choice to get picked I'd pick myself for every international game.

"My father was born there and a lot of my family are still in Nigeria so it would mean something to myself and my whole family.

"But the main thing for me is worrying about my Wolves form."

Has anyone from the Nigerian FA been to watch him in action?

"I'm not too sure. They might have watched me and walked out depending on what game they watched!"

One aspect of goalkeeping that has changed in recent years in the increasing need to play the ball like a footballer, not simply hoof it up to the big man.

Would Ikeme feel comfortable in a Manuel Neuer-style 'sweeper' role?

"Neuer's like a centre midfielder," he says.

"But you have to be more comfortable with the ball now.

"The main thing for a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the net but you're getting a lot of them coming through now who are very comfortable with the ball at their feet.

Speaking of a crowd, Ikeme has long enjoyed a positive relationship with Wolves supporters, who he says have been 'very good for me, even through tough periods'.

He speaks sincerely of his affection for the club and its fans. And if Wolves win promotion next May there will be no one who's earned his shot at the big time more than Ikeme.

"If you're not aiming for the Premier League you shouldn't even be playing," he says.

"I've been here since I was 15 so it means a lot to me to play here and be successful.

"I can hear all the Wolves fans right behind me during a game. Although I can't always respond as I'm trying to concentrate!

"We've been through tough times so hopefully the team and the fans can keep that connection.

"The away fans try and get on you a bit, but it's just a bit of banter and I take it with a pinch of salt.

"I've been called all the names under the sun. It's just part of the fun of being a goalkeeper."