Town winger Stephen Hunt has recalled the highlight of his time at former club Wolves as he prepares to return to Molineux on Saturday for a key clash of the play-off rivals.

Hunt, 33, scored eight goals in 66 appearances over three seasons with the Midlands outfit after Mick McCarthy bought him from Hull for a reported fee of £3 million in June 2010.

But the game that stands out above all others for the ebullient Irishman took place at Molineux against Blackburn Rovers on the final day of the 2010/11 season.

He recalled: “Blackburn were leading 3-0 at half-time and it wasn’t looking good. Jamie O’Hara pulled one back but we looked like going down on goal difference because Birmingham were drawing 1-1 at Tottenham and they were a goal better off than us.

“The crowd were chanting ‘We only need one goal’ and three minutes from the end I scored. It meant that as things stood we were staying up by just one goal but Spurs went on to score deep into stoppage time and so in the end we also had a one-point advantage.”

Hunt had a rollercoaster three years, surviving the drop in his first season, being relegated in his second — McCarthy was sacked in February 2012 with 13 games left to play — and then departing soon after the unthinkable happened when the club suffered a second successive relegation to drop into League One.

Asked how he looked back on his time at Molineux he responded: “Enjoyment and some difficult patches, like the last season for sure when I was unfit for the last 10 games or so and it was a difficult year.

“But now they have a good team spirit there with good characters and it’s amazing what that does.

“It brings an all-round level of performance to a higher degree and I am pleased to see them doing well.

“The manager [Kenny Jackett] has come in and brought a calmness with him. He seems to be level-headed about his job and how he goes about it, and he’s obviously done a good job.

“Did I leave on good terms? You don’t leave a club on good terms when it’s been relegated — simple as.

“Did I have my moments when I enjoyed it there? Yes, of course, like the goal against Blackburn to keep them up, which was vitally important. I wish them well, just not on Saturday.

“Will I celebrate if I’m playing and I score? More than likely, because they’ll celebrate if they score against me.”

Meanwhile, Hunt's former Wolves team-mate Richard Stearman says his spell on loan with the Blues during the second half of the 2012/13 season saved his career at Molineux.

“[Kenny Jackett] saw what I could do at Ipswich at that time, and had I stayed at Wolves and not played I’m not too sure what would have happened,” he told the Wolverhampton Express and Star.

“I had to prove myself which I thought I did at Ipswich and that showed the gaffer who was coming in here what I was capable of.

“And as a result of that I was delighted he wanted me around the place and showed faith in me at the start of his time here.

“He put a big part of his team around me and I was delighted that happened and hopefully I’ve repaid him.”

He added: “At the time I wasn’t playing as much as I’d have liked, but I was ready to stay and fight for my place.

“But Mick came in, and while Ipswich were towards the bottom at the time and it was a risk, it was one I was more than willing to take given what I knew about him and TC.

“It worked out well for me personally and for Ipswich, and I was really pleased with how it went.

“They were massive for me with Mick, who played in my position, buying me and playing me. Mick and ‘TC’ moulded me and brought me through here and I owe them a lot.”

The 27-year-old says he's been happy with his personal form as Wolves have climbed from League One and up into the Championship play-off battle.

“I’m delighted with how I’ve been playing over the last couple of years," he said.

“I feel this is the best form I’ve been in through my career and I’m in a good place right now — long may that continue.

“We’re all trying to get into the Premier League and that would mean everything to everyone connected with the club.

“We’re still in with a chance and are all desperate to get back there — that’s the aim and what we're hoping to achieve in the next few weeks.”

Photo: Action Images

ollie_smith2001 added 23:17 - Apr 17 Would love to see Stearman in a Town shirt again
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