The Wolves summer signing who never kicked a ball after training ground heart attack

“Those are the times when I miss him most, when things happen that I would love to talk to him about,” he says.

“It brings it all back, it’s an emotional time because it’s the sort of occasion when you want your Dad there.

“We were very close, and I learnt so much from him.”

A fixture between Wolves and Leicester is one to bring back memories of Neville Hamilton, who sadly passed away in 2009 at the age of 48.

He is more well known to Foxes fans than Wolves, having started his career with his home city club and making a handful of appearances, before later returning as a coach within the youth set-up, nurturing the likes of England striker Emile Heskey and Wolves’ promotion winner Richard Stearman.

With Wolves, it was, sadly, a case of what might have been.

Just over forty years ago, in the summer of 1984, Hamilton had arrived at Molineux.

Having properly learned his trade, and risen to prominence, with successful spells at Mansfield and Rochdale, this was his big opportunity.

A winger or wide midfielder, as one of four signings snapped up by new boss Tommy Docherty, Hamilton had already impressed in several friendlies.

None more so than his new team-mates.

“Neville hadn’t long arrived but he had settled in quickly and was doing well,” legendary Wolves defender Geoff Palmer recalls.

“He was a good player, a really fit lad who got about the pitch, got on with his football and did what he had to do.

“He was impressing and I think he would definitely have made the first team when the season started and made a positive impact, I have no doubt about that.”

But then, one normal day of training at Castlecroft, with the new season just weeks away, tragedy struck.

“I can remember even now, I think it was a bit of a practice match, and Neville was just running towards me,” adds Palmer.

“All of a sudden, he just collapsed, and fell to the floor.  None of us knew what was going on and it was really frightening.”

Hamilton had suffered a heart attack.  And this was a time when there was nothing like the specialist equipment of today, a defibrillator, or numerous members of staff all trained in up-to-date lifesaving techniques if such an emergency should occur.

Denis Conyerd is now 82.  Having initially worked in private practice, he became Wolves’ physio after answering a call put out by Derek Dougan in the local press.

He can still picture vividly pretty much every moment of that perilous and life-threatening situation at Castlecroft that pre-season summer morning.

“I was based out of the Castlecroft training ground at the time, previously it had been at Molineux but Tommy wanted me down at Castlecroft,” recalls Denis, who worked alongside club doctor Bill Tweddell.

“It was a normal day and I was going about my business until Jim Barron (assistant manager) suddenly rushed in and said that Neville had collapsed.

“I rushed out and he was lying in the centre circle, and I remember just going into an auto pilot, feeling for a pulse and there wasn’t one there.

“I wanted to do chest compressions, but Neville was a really fit and strong lad, and I couldn’t get his chest to move, so Frank Upton (youth coach) came over and started helping out.

“He did 15 compressions, and I did mouth to mouth, but still there was no response.