Kieran Trippier: ‘The Championship is relentless … it’s totally different to the Premier League’

When the question inevitably comes, Kieran Trippier is happy to set the record straight. Fresh from training, head to toe in Wolves kit – vest, shorts and club-branded sliders – he walks into a suite at their Compton Park base, conversation soon shifting to an episode that rocked supporters and stopped outsiders in their tracks: three days after signing, the manager Trippier cited as a significant driver behind his decision to drop into the second tier, Rob Edwards, had been sacked. All the while, a deal for his replacement, César Peixoto, was being accelerated.

“I’m not going to sit here and lie, I wasn’t expecting it,” Trippier says. “But it’s the club’s decision. I had good chats with Rob, of course, but I’m here to play for Wolves. There are many surprises in football and that certainly was a surprise, I’m not going to deny that. But I just cracked on, I was with my kids on holiday, training in Mallorca and just looking forward to day one in pre-season.”

Other reports followed the bombshell news. “I’ve read it all: that I was looking to rip my contract up, and all this nonsense. I was just looking forward to reporting back to Wolves. I don’t know where it even came from to be honest, that I was looking to rip my contract up – it certainly didn’t come from me, otherwise you would have heard it from me, that’s just the player that I am.”

It is a line in keeping with Trippier’s endearing straight-talking character that has made him a big hit everywhere he has been. He left Newcastle at the end of last season after playing an instrumental part in their rise under Eddie Howe, the crowning glory the Carabao Cup win last year. He spent three seasons at Atlético Madrid under Diego Simeone, where he won La Liga, after four at Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino, culminating in a Champions League final appearance. He represented England at four major tournaments, playing every game en route to the Euro 2024 final.

Now he is back in the second tier for the first time since promotion with Burnley 12 years ago, poised to start Wolves’ Championship opener against Blackburn on Friday. He accepts it is not a natural segue. For entertaining Barcelona at St James’ Park last September, read Bolton at Molineux in October.

“I’m not ashamed to go to the Championship because I played in it for many years,” Trippier says, recalling his first taste of the division: defending alongside Darren Moore while a teenager at Barnsley. “I had a good chat with Eddie Howe and Ross Wilson [Newcastle’s sporting director] and made my decision at the end of the season that I wanted to try something new. There were a few [interested] clubs but it was important for me that I was close to my children.”

Trippier, who calls Manchester home, knows what to expect from an unforgiving league. He recalls being part of a Burnley side that triumphed 2-1 at Wolves in the penultimate game of 2012-13, to extinguish lingering fears of relegation and all but condemn Wolves to League One. “I’ve been speaking to my teammates because the majority of them have never played in the Championship, so it’s important for myself and the lads who have to help them and try and make them understand that it’s going to be difficult.

“I’ve just said: it’s relentless, because it is … and it’s totally different to the Premier League. Going to Lincoln away is going to be a difficult game, but they’re good lads who have listened to me, Tommy [Doyle], Adam [Armstrong]. The lads will be ready.”

This is Trippier’s first external interview since joining Wolves on a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months. He canvassed the opinions of Doyle, Conor Coady, John Ruddy and Sam Johnstone, with whom he was on holiday in Turkey before signing, to tap into “the insides of the club”. Edwards’s sudden departure – a month after André committed his future to the club and 48 hours after Raúl Jiménez returned to enhance the feelgood factor generated by Trippier’s arrival – warrants discussion, but the full-back is well placed to talk on numerous fronts, including Howe’s exit after four-and-a-half years.

“He helped the club stay in the Premier League, twice qualified for the Champions League, won a trophy, but the most important thing he did was reconnecting the supporters with the team. I was told before the [Saudi Arabia-led] takeover that it was not a good place to be – the fans were against the owners, the board etc – but when the new owners came in, and the manager, he [Howe] connected everyone, just like Gareth Southgate did with England.”

Is Howe’s legacy deserving of a statue? “He’s won a trophy, hasn’t he?” Trippier replies with a smile, “but that’s not for me to decide … the parade was incredible, the big banner of the manager showed the love the supporters had for him and still have now. When I first went there, it was a tough place [to play], especially after getting beat by Cambridge [in the FA Cup third round], but maybe that was a blessing, really, so we could just focus on [staying in] the Premier League … he will go down in history there, for sure. I’m gutted to see him go.”

Then there is England’s World Cup semi-final collapse against Argentina, when their low block crumbled late on. “I’ve been in that position many, many times with Simeone – I could name 30 games when he’s done it and we’ve managed to see it out, typical Simeone for you. He’s the master of the dark arts and seeing out games. Thomas Tuchel has been in that position many, many times, won a Champions League trophy with Chelsea, did unbelievable with Bayern Munich … it just didn’t happen. We were against one of the greatest players ever who can flick a switch,” Trippier says of Lionel Messi, clicking his fingers. “I’ve played against him many times where he just walks for 60 minutes, but then he can score a hat-trick. That’s just the magic of him.”

Peixoto is unknown to most but Trippier says he was aware of the Portuguese’s pedigree before the 46-year-old, who spent last season in charge of Gil Vicente, succeeded Edwards. Peixoto’s command of English has meant Trippier has not needed to dip into his Spanish to converse. “When the postman used to come in Madrid, I used to get my son to answer because he was fluent,” Trippier says, smiling.

So, what’s Peixoto like? “Really demanding. Honest. On the training field he is 100mph, nuts – in a good way – but he’s really, really demanding and I think that’s what we need as players if we want to be successful. He’s very demanding, like Pochettino and Simeone. He has his own rules: don’t break his trust, don’t be late. I wouldn’t like to be on his bad side, let’s put it that way.”

Trippier turns 36 in September, twice the age of Mateus Mané, an exciting talent who Trippier witnessed first-hand when marking him with Newcastle last season and one of those Wolves hope will illuminate a positive season. “I feel good, I feel probably in the best shape I’ve been in for many, many years. I’m not as fast as I used to be but I always believe I am clever and fast up here,” Trippier says, tapping his temples. “I feel like I’ve still got many years left in the tank.”

For Wolves, his signing was a coup. “It’s similar to when I went to Newcastle, when I left Atlético Madrid … There were a lot of eyebrows raised, but throughout my whole career I’ve had no regrets.”

Trippier, who is part of Peixoto’s leadership group, acknowledges he and his teammates will begin the campaign with a target on their backs. “Going into the Blackburn game, the first game of the Championship season, all eyes will be on us,” he says.

“When teams get relegated from the Premier League, everybody wants to beat them. It was a tough year for Wolves last year, but this season is a new season, like a reset. The reality is now we’re in the Championship, so you have to forget what happened last season and look forward, be positive. Our goal has to be to go straight back up to the Premier League.”

Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.