Molineux Will Be Rocking

Matt Doherty says that Molineux will be ‘rocking’ as Wolves walk out at Molineux against Aston Villa on Saturday (5.30pm).

Wolves sit second in the Sky Bet Championship table heading into Saturday’s clash against their local rivals.

 

Doherty says that he can’t wait for the game - a fixture in which Wolves won last season.

 

He said, “They are different to any other game - when we walk out tomorrow, the place will be rocking before a ball’s even been kicked and that’s the difference between any other games. 

 

“I cant wait, I’m looking forward to It - we played really well against them last season at home but I think we were even better away. 

 

“I wouldn’t say our recent record plays a part though, it’s not going to make a difference once we’re on the pitch.

 

“People might wonder how you focus with all the noise or all the crowd - it’s not that difficult. 

 

“Once the whistle goes, you don’t hear half of it - you just block it out and play the game so it won’t be that difficult. 

 

“The expectations are higher this season, that’s a lot of different pressure. 

 

“We’ll just have to deal with it - it’s exciting, you don’t want to be playing games being 15th or 16th all season.

 

“We played really well at Burton and you just want to keep playing games after that. 

 

“You’re trying to hope that the International break doesn’t stop any of the momentum that you’ve had, but we’ve trained well this week so we’ll hopefully be back at it on Saturday.

 

“We couldn’t have asked for much more from the start of the season - Sheffield United was probably the biggest disappointment but we head into a run of fixtures now that look like they could be tricky enough so it should show at the end of that whether we’re really ready to challenge at the top.

 

“We’re looking at tomorrow, Villa - big game…we’re not looking towards Preston, it’s not even been mentioned at all so it’s just one game at a time. 

 

“Don’t get me wrong, I know exactly who we’re playing and you do think if we beat Villa, who do we have next. 

 

“The first thing we do after the manager’s spoken after the game is check the other results and where we are in the table.”

 

Doherty has started every Sky Bet Championship game so far this season as a right-wing back, a different position to where he played last season.

 

The 25 year old says he is thoroughly enjoying life under Nuno Espirito Santo and feels that he has become a better player under the new management.

 

“I’m really, really enjoying it - I get to go forward, I get to defend and I feel fitter than I ever have,” Doherty said. 

 

“I get a lot of the ball and we seem to keep the ball better than we have in previous years. 

 

“Everyone will agree that it’s a lot more exciting this year.

 

“I wouldn’t say I’ve changed in my style of play - I’ve become a better player under the new management I would say in the short space of time that they’ve been here. 

 

“I’ve become fitter and little things like that make a huge difference in your overall game, I’d say I’ve definitely become better.

 

“If we’re top of the table and teams are coming to Molineux with a sold out crowd, then they’re probably going to produce one of the best performances of the season. 

 

“That would be different if we were 15th with the stadium half empty. 

 

“We’ve started well but obviously it’s still early - the players that have come in have taken to the league like a duck to water and long may it continue. 

 

“I don’t see us stepping off it, the players that have come in, I think are two good to let themselves die off - I expect performances that we’ve been producing for the rest of the season.”