Just one defeat in the opening eight matches of Wolves’ first season back in the top-flight following promotion from the Championship last season sees Nuno Espirito Santo’s side sitting comfortably in seventh position in the Premier League table.
Wolves also recorded back-to-back wins for the second time this season after Matt Doherty’s effort, coupled with solid defending by the whole team, helped secure all three points on a wet Saturday afternoon in south London against Crystal Palace.
Bennett, who is part of a Wolves backline which has conceded just one goal in the last five league matches, said of Palace: “I know they’ve struggled of late at home, but we knew it would be tough. The conditions were horrible, and we knew we had to dig in. The manager said at half-time the game was there for us to win but it was going to be hard, and fortunately we went out there and did it.
“Defending goes right from the front. We work so hard on it and you see Joao [Moutinho], Ruben [Neves] and Raul [Jimenez] – right at the top – the wide men chasing down at you. It’s a collective thing and we can’t do it if they don’t, it’s as simple as that.
“I know strikers get plaudits for scoring goals and defenders get plaudits for putting blocks in, but we need the wing-backs and midfielders to come and help us and that’s what they’ve been doing all season.”
The 28-year-old defender is adamant that the positive attitude of his teammates will keep minds focused on their aims for this season, and he knows the players need to keep working hard if they are to maintain their form following the international break.
“All the lads are the same,” he added. “They come in day-in, day-out, and everyone’s respectful, everyone works as hard as they can. The lads’ attitudes are perfect, and I think you can tell that out there [on the pitch], because there’s no hiding place. Teams work us out because there’s a lot of analysis these days, but fortunately for us we keep finding solutions at the minute and it’s up to us to continue that.
“But it’s a long couple of weeks now. We’ve got a lot of lads away, and it’ll be tough as it’s hard to work on anything tactically as we haven’t got a full quota. But we’ll come in, we’ll work hard and hopefully when the lads come back, we’ll be ready.”
