Wilson was named new technical director at Newcastle last month.
Speaking at a supporters' event, Wilson said: "I was in a job that I was incredibly happy in, which is always a good place to be. I am thankful that I have always been in jobs for 21 years.
"So I was happy. Throughout that time, the phone rings from time to time, and opportunities come your way.
"This was one I found incredibly difficult to say no to.
"When I was speaking to the president of my former club, I told him it was what I wanted to do, even though I was happy with where I was.
"Everything went incredibly well, and the journey was going well, but I couldn't say no.
"All the ingredients are here at this club to be incredibly successful.
"We have spoken for a number of months that this is the most exciting project in the Premier League, maybe in Europe. It is something we all share.
"When presented with the opportunity to join a club like this, at a time like this, it was incredibly difficult to say no."
My role
He also said: "I want to be really, really open - I am not some type of superstar scout that goes all over the place, flying here, there, and everywhere. That's not me.
"What I see myself as is somebody who sits in the middle of an organisation from a football perspective.
"Whether it's what we do with our men's team with Eddie Howe, whether it's what we do with our women's team with Grace Wlliams, James Bunce is an incredible support, we have Steve Nickson and Andy Howe working in scouting, right across the board we've got really good people working with us.
"We want to be raising the bar, and we want to be bigger as an organisation. That's how I see the job."