Rae aiming to give Wolves bite of the Premiership

Midfielder says there will be no excuses if Molineux men fail to join elite this time

With hindsight, asking Alex Rae whether Wolverhampton Wanderers were "suffering a hangover" after their failure to reach the Premiership was not the most sensitive start to our conversation. But the waspish midfielder, a recovering alcoholic who has not touched a drink in four years, body-swerved the imagery and tackled the idea as if it were a Bradford City player in Sunday's opening First Division match.

"There's no hiding from the fact that last season finished in the most disappointing way, which has made the summer feel very long," Rae said. "Personally, I tried to put it out of my mind, to forget about it and get on with trying to make sure we get it right this time. That goes for everybody. No one's sulking. In fact, we can't wait to get started."

As a player with considerable top-flight experience, once hailed by Craig Brown as "a modern-day Dave Mackay", Rae needs no reminding that Valley Parade is not Old Trafford. Or that the Manchester United ground is where Wolves' Black Country rivals, West Bromwich Albion, will start before nearly 70,000 spectators a week later, a dramatic instant reward for snatching the second automatic place from under their neighbour's noses.

The disparity between the fixture schedules – not only with Albion but also with Birmingham after they went up via the play-offs in which Wolves' collapse became complete – presented, dare one say it, a sobering prospect for Rae. However, the 32-year-old Glaswegian has fought back before from setbacks in his personal and professional life, experiences from which he hopes to draw strength for the task of ending Wolves' 13-year tenure in the second tier.

The mood around Molineux in the early summer was not dissimilar to the one he encountered with Sunderland in another World Cup year. In 1998, he appeared as a substitute when Peter Reid's side lost to Charlton on penalties after drawing 4-4 in the First Division play-off final at Wembley. It was a crushing blow, although, in those days, Rae treated Kipling's twin imposters of triumph and disaster the same way: by hitting the bottle.

It was not until the following autumn that he admitted the problem, both to himself and to Reid. Within hours he was on his way to a clinic. When he returned, five weeks later, the drunken hazes which clouded his memories of successes and failures alike were behind him. Nowadays he prefers not to discuss his alcoholism, admitting he "got sick of going on about it", but would not be averse to Wolves emulating what Sunderland achieved after his rehabilitation.

"It seemed like the end of the world when Sunderland lost to Charlton because, like Wolves, they're a massive club with fanatical support and need to be in the top division," Rae said. "But the boys returned for pre-season all the more determined and we went up as champions. That's what we have to aim for, and the signs are very positive."

Despite the initial absence of their manager, Dave Jones, through illness, Wolves' players had what Rae describes as "a fantastic couple of weeks" blowing away the cobwebs in their training camp at RAF Cosford. They then headed off to Portugal, where defeats to Sporting Lisbon and Maritimo were less important than honing their match-fitness. With the former Manchester United defender Denis Irwin coming on board, and Paul Ince reportedly poised to follow, the process has continued with mixed results in domestic friendlies.

"Most of the boys came back in a really upbeat mood," Rae said. "Of course we were disappointed, and the frustrating thing is that we had it in our own hands. But no one could have foreseen West Brom finishing with nine wins and a couple of draws.

"We appreciate how that must have hurt our fans. Players come and go but supporters don't change their allegiance. But it would be wrong for anyone to think it didn't hit us hard. I see it as an opportunity missed, not only for the club to play in the Premiership, which the whole place is geared up for, but also for me to play where every player wants to be."

Rae points out that it was a relatively new team, comprised largely of recruits by Jones, who was himself in his first full season at the club. "We were in the top two from September until the last few weeks, which proves we must have something," he added. "People say Manchester City ran away with it, yet if we'd beaten them at home over Easter we'd have been right behind them. But that's all hypothetical now."

Apart from Irwin, Brentford's Ivar Ingimarsson is the only newcomer. The Icelandic midfielder arrived on a Bosman "free", which probably reflects a feeling on Sir Jack Hayward's part that he has done his bit. "The chairman has put a lot of money in," acknowledged Rae, "but it's not just a financial thing for him. It's a passion, a love for the club." Sir Jack and 25,000 less wealthy devotees will not so much expect a fully fledged promotion challenge as demand it. Rather than hiding behind psychological ploys which assert that other clubs are the true favourites, Rae accepts that anything less will not be good enough, saying: "We'll certainly be tipping ourselves."

Their main competition will come, he believes, from the relegated trio of Leicester, Derby and Ipswich. He also has a strong regard for Norwich, who beat Wolves in the play-offs; for Millwall, his first English club; and for Preston, especially now that his former Scotland Under-21 manager, the aforementioned Craig Brown, is in charge.

The one blessing Rae sees in the rise of West Bromwich and Birmingham is that it means four fewer derbies, with all the volatility they entail, even if Stoke's advance ensures another two. But he and his colleagues realise that talk of mitigating circumstances will not wash with their restless supporters. Whether or not Wolves' hangover still lingers, it is time for the hair of the dog.