LEW GRABBING AT PROMOTION
Wolves players warned as they face Jonjo for first time since race-slur ban
PAUL LAMBERT has warned his Wolves players not to let any simmering tensions boil over when they face Jonjo Shelvey today.
The Newcastle midfielder received a five-game ban and a £100,000 fine after being found guilty of racially abusing Romain Saiss during a 2-0 defeat of the Magpies in September.
Wolves trio Matt Doherty, Dominic Iorfa and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson all provided testimonies to the FA that the England international had used racist language towards Saiss in an incident that followed the dismissal of Newcastle midfielder Vurnon Anita.
A hostile reception is sure to await Shelvey at Molineux for today’s televised clash, which will be the first time Shelvey has faced Wolves since he was banned.
But manager Lambert insisted: “The message would be to focus on the game.
“Don’t worry about anything else, just play your game as you have done. Just focus on the game.
“I don’t get too caught up in these things. What happened in the past has happened.
“I wasn’t here and can only go on what people have told me. They were protecting their team-mate, quite rightly so.
“I don’t know what was said as such, in depth, but you would expect the players to protect their team-mate. And Romain’s a really nice guy.
“I wasn’t here at the time, I know little bits of what happened but for me it’s a game of football that we’ll play to win.”
Saiss could feature having resuming training after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Lambert said: “We’ll see how he does. If it’s not this week it could be Wigan (on Tuesday), or Chelsea (next weekend).
“The lad’s just come back from a very gruelling period, plus the team’s playing well. There are lads who I’ve left out who have been playing well.”
After their recent FA Cup triumph at Liverpool, Wolves were brought back down to earth by a defeat to Burton last weekend.
Yet Lambert added: “The bigger picture is that we’ve made inroads on and off the pitch, we’ve had an incredible time in the Cup.
“I’m not going to let one defeat change the way I think of the lads or anything. I’ve got a group that I know I can trust.” LEWIS GRABBAN believes Reading can notch up a promotion hat-trick.
Grabban (above) helped Bournemouth from League One to the Championship before firing Norwich to a Premier League place.
The striker joined the Royals on loan from Bournemouth on deadline day and said: “If they didn’t have a chance of promotion I wouldn’t have come. There’s a good chance to do something special this season.”
Grabban, 29, whose side host Barnsley today, endured a torrid time after rejoining Bournemouth last year – making just eight first-team starts.
He added: “You want to be playing and progressing in your career.”
Rookie Newcastle striker Adam Armstrong is eyeing promotion through the play-offs with Barnsley.
Armstrong, 20 yesterday, has extended his loan deal from Newcastle until the end of the season. “This is a massive opportunity for me,” he said.
“I chose Barnsley. They are a club going in the right direction.”