Danny Collins believes he made the right decision to reject interest from Wolves and instead join Stoke.
Stoke defender relishing chance to face Wolves
Danny Collins believes he made the right decision to reject interest from Wolves over the summer and instead join Stoke.
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy was understood to be keen on securing the defender's services after working with him at Sunderland.
Collins has a lot of respect for McCarthy but has no regrets about moving to the Britannia Stadium ahead of Saturday's match between the two sides.
"Wolves were interested in me, I understand, when I was leaving Sunderland," he said.
"Mick was the manager at Sunderland who gave me my chance when he signed me from Chester in 2004.
"He's a top manager. He wants to work with the players on the training ground - much like Tony (Pulis).
"Mick is a top manager, a pleasure to work with. I hope he does well with Wolves - his side are capable of unsettling anyone with their energy and organisation.
"I enjoyed my time working with him - but I feel it was the right decision to come to Stoke. I already knew a few of the lads here, who were with me at Sunderland.
"It has been a good choice, and I feel I have been playing okay. It will be nice to see Mick again. I'll have a chat beforehand with him - but I'm not sure whether we'll talk after the game!"
Pleased
Collins has settled in well at his new club, producing a series of accomplished performances to help them into the top half of the Premier League table.
He was especially pleased with the surprise 1-0 victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane last weekend.
"I've been here seven weeks now - and apart from the Manchester United and
Chelsea games that we lost, we have done okay," he reflected.
"We have got two draws and a couple of wins - and one of those was at Spurs, which is pleasing because last season Stoke did not do too well on their travels.
"We are sitting ninth in the league with a derby against Wolves next, so we are really looking forward to building on that victory at Spurs.
"I hear (Spurs boss) Harry Redknapp was saying they could have been four up before we scored. Maybe he is right. But in the end we scored and took the points, and that will do for us."
