Sir Jack Hayward has shrugged aside suggestions of impending retirement and pledged his commitment to Wolves returning to the Premiership.

The holding of a tribute dinner at Molineux last night had fuelled speculation Hayward was ready to pull the plug on his 15-year tenure as club owner, and completely sever his involvement at boardroom level.

Although he handed over the chairmanship to son Rick 16 months ago, Hayward remained as president and still wielded a heavy influence around Molineux.

And that is now set to continue, with a measure of Sir Jack's feelings being illustrated by Rick referring to him as a 'co-chairman'.

"I didn't want this dinner, it was Rick's idea, maybe he wants to take complete control," laughed Sir Jack.

"But I won't let that happen and this is certainly not a retirement party.

"We haven't achieved anything yet, we may have got into the Premier League but we didn't stay there.

"We have got to get into the Premier League and stay there and consolidate, up there along with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool."

Wolves stars and officials, past and present, were in attendance to pay tribute to Hayward's patronage, but the man himself played down his efforts and the millions of pounds ploughed into his dream.

"I am madly in love with Wolves," he said. "And it is completely mad that I should be thanked for doing something that every Wolves fan in the world would have done if they had enjoyed the same good fortune."

Hayward also pledged his support for current boss Glenn Hoddle and the hope that he would agree to extend his contract which expires next month.

That issue is still up in the air and with Rick now aiming to run Wolves on more business-like lines without his father's generosity, there is probably no substantial transfer budget to dangle in front of Hoddle during negotiations.

With that in mind, rumours had flooded the city that club sponsors Chaucer Consulting, headed up by lifelong Wolves fan Bob Laslett, were preparing to increase their investment.

To date, those have proved unfounded, although Laslett has laid the foundations for greater involvement in the years to come by telling last night's gathering he had promised Sir Jack he would help continue looking after the club in the future.

Wikipedia’s article on Sir Jack covers

Sir Jack Hayward OBE is a property developer. He was born in Wolverhampton, England, in 1923.

Sir Jack was educated at Northaw Preparatory School and Stowe school in Buckingham, England. In 1941, during the Second World War, he joined the Royal Air Force, receiving flight training in Clewiston, Florida. He served as an Officer Pilot in the S.E. Asia Command and in 1946 was demobilized as a Flight Lieutenant. Sir Jack first arrived in Grand Bahama in 1956, when he became a Vice President of The Grand Bahama Port Authority and helped promote the development of Freeport.

His father, Sir Charles Hayward, began the Hayward involvement with the Bahamas in the 1950s. This was taken over by Hayward, who developed Freeport in the Bahamas, a very successful development that he continues to play a role in.

Hayward was knighted for his charitable actions, giving money to save Lundy Island and the SS Great Britain. There is a school named after him in the Bahamas. Hayward is also the owner and was until recently chairman of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. It is conservatively estimated that he has spent £60m of his personal fortune on a stadium, training ground, and players for the club during the 14 years for which he has owned the club.

Jack Hayward High School in Freeport is named after him.