Sam Johnstone says his natural goalkeeper instincts came to the fore on Saturday, after making his debut just a day after joining Wolves on deadline day.
The goalkeeper’s move from Crystal Palace was confirmed on Friday morning, hours before his first training session with the group, and the next day he was between the sticks at The City Ground. The 31-year-old put in an assured performance, producing some important stops when required, and now with an international period at Compton Park to get to know the club further, he’s excited by his new challenge.
On being thrown straight in
“I loved it. Obviously, I've only been here two days. They just showed me the goalkeeper coach and little bit of a team on Friday, so still getting to know my teammates and how we want to do things. But once you step on the pitch, I think your natural instincts come into it. I've played many games and it was good, not loads to do, just a couple of nice saves.
“It’s been a pretty busy few days, coming into a new club late on and trying to get used to the lads, get used to names and faces and the way we want to play. It’s going to take some time and the lads have made me feel settled in the first two days and straight into the team for a big game.”
On a solid point on the road
“I think it's good point, difficult place to come and they're a good team. It's a good point on the road. It was an end-to-end game for pretty much the whole game. Things can swing either way, but the lads fought hard, we fought hard. We had some good chances, so did they, so overall it was a fair result.
“I obviously wasn't here last week, so I can't comment, but today we were solid, and the team worked really well. We worked our socks off and fought hard for that point. It's never going to be easy to come here against a Forest team, but we scored a great goal. We needed a minimum point, it would be nice to get three, but as long as we get results, that’s all that matters.”
On being in his peak years
“Yeah, hopefully. It's a good age. I've got a lot of experience, played a lot of games, and I’m obviously still young for a goalkeeper. I'm excited to be here, to work with Neil Cutler the goalkeeper coach, and keep improving, keep progressing and seeing where it takes us.”
A 🚀 from JRB pic.twitter.com/R3VaSNhTEP
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 31, 2024
On taking the club forward
“A couple new signings and already very good players here, a good manager, good staff, good people. So, I'm buzzing to be here. The fans have really made me welcome as well, so happy days.”
