Matt Doherty says there’s no way this Wolves group will get carried away with their recent form, with a difficult test against his former boss on the agenda on Monday.
Wolves have turned their fortunes around since the arrival of Vitor Pereira, taking seven points from nine available, with Doherty being employed at right centre half throughout that run. It was another Portuguese head coach Nuno Espirito Santo credited with getting the best out of the Irishman during his first Molineux spell, so when Wolves face Nuno’s in-form Nottingham Forest side, he knows only too well the tough challenge ahead.
On a strong finish to 2024
“It’s not just the team, I but the club in general, fan base, the city. Things weren't looking great for us, and if you look at the table at Christmas, the history of it is not good reading. So, we really needed to do something and we managed to do that. We've managed to turn things around, and things are looking alright for us at the moment.
“But we’re still right there. Ipswich beat Chelsea, so we know teams can get results. We're not going to get too carried away. We just focus on the next game, even the next training session. We've had a few days off now, so we just need to get switched back on.
“One of the worst things you can do is look too far ahead and start planning stuff that's maybe not within your reach. We just need to keep it next game at time, and that's a bit of a cliche, but if you're starting to look too far ahead, you get yourself in a bit of trouble.”
On a point at Tottenham
“It was probably a fair result. I don't think we actually played that well. There were times where we did nice little bits of play, but I don't think we were that secure with the ball at times. Obviously, when you score towards, you kind of come out feeling like you've won the game, obviously that wasn't the case, but it was a good point.”
On being back in the team
“I've been used to wing back a lot over the course of my career. When I first came when I was 18, I was actually a centre back at the time. There's a lot of time when you're playing right centre back you end up as the right back anyway, whatever way you're trying to press.
“I'm really enjoying it at the moment. I'm 32 and not busting a gut up and down the wing and trying to recover, which is just difficult at my age. I am enjoying it, it's a new position, so I'm still learning which is a good thing. It's a position where you constantly feel involved in the game. Sometimes at wing back you can make a lot of runs, be up and down, and not actually touch the ball that much. At the moment I'm really enjoying it.”
On the new manager’s impact
“The new manager’s come in and I think him being able to speak Portuguese does help. He's able to get messages across a little bit clearer. It happens so often with a new manager, there's just an immediate bounce because everybody's on trial again. Everyone's trying to impress, and everyone feels like it's a clean slate, everyone's trying to get in the team. I think that's what we have now, and now it's up to us to maintain what we've started.”
On Forest up next
“They have been very good. They’re a fast team, they’re an exciting team. With Nuno as manager they’re a little bit like us when he first came in. We know how tough it’s going to be. They've got some very good players going forward and they're doing well at the back. They've got everything going for them, and I'm actually quite happy for Nuno and the staff. I think that they really deserved it, because he had a tough time after Wolves.”
On a new position
“For me, the change of position has actually given me a new lease of life, because it is something that in my head, maybe another year or so down the line, that I was thinking that I would want do anyway. So, for it to come now, in a pressure situation, I've really, really enjoyed it.
“I was obviously a little bit surprised when he came in for the session and I was straight in there, no messing around. That has just given me a bit of motivation to want to do really well in that position, to want to do really well for him for believing that I was going to be able to play in that position.
“Everybody's just a little bit more confident. When you have players who have the ability of the players in this club, if everybody's a bit more confident, they're going to start playing well and results are going to start coming.”
On a talented and together group
“If you just look at the players that have passed through the last few years, all moving on to so called bigger clubs, and for big fees. We've always managed to have a lot of talented players.
“The energy was always good in the changing room, even when we weren't winning, which I think was probably a good thing and probably helped. We weren't getting super low. When you get to that low state, it's a bit of a slippery slope and hard to snap out of.
“We weren't playing like a team that was on the floor. We all get on, there's no real clicks, no groups. Everybody's friendly each other, which I wouldn't say happens in every changing room.”
