Ryan: I won’t forget where I came from

PREM HIGHS: Sterling & Bennett RYAN BENNETT is enjoying the time of his life at Wolves – but he has never forgotten where he came from or those who helped him along the way.

And although he is playing regularly for a side in the top half of the Premier League, he won’t take it for granted after grafting his way up the ladder.

Released at 15 by Ipswich Town, the full-back, 28, went to Grimsby to learn not only his trade but also about life.

He said: “I look back now and think, ‘The way I did it was the right way’.

“It’s difficult to come through as a kid now. Some of the money is unbelievable and where they get their grounding, I don’t really know.

“I wouldn’t change the way I came through and I wouldn’t fancy doing it again now.

“Every morning I’d catch the bus at 8am to the ground. I had my chores even before I could think about training. I was in charge of the physio’s room. Every day for one year.

“I’d have to make sure the beds were sorted, that there was ice. That it was clean and the floors were mopped every day. It was 9 to 5. I was still doing the jobs when I was playing for the first team.”

And Bennett has a special place in his heart for the landlady who became a second mother to him.

He said: “I moved into digs with a lady called Dorothy Hopper who taught me how to cook. It made me grow up. She took me in and treated me like her son.

“I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have at the time.

“Unfortunately, she died a couple of years ago. I owe her a lot.”

It’s a far cry from the bling of the Premier League, televised games in front of sell-out crowds and the challenge of facing Newcastle United.

“There’s been a lot that has changed since I arrived,” added Bennett. “I’ve spoken to the boys and found out a little bit what it was like before. People were expecting big things. Fortunately, we have delivered on that.

“But we have been playing well for the last season and a half. There is a little bit of expectancy now. We have to deal with that. Everywhere we go it’s sold out. Fourth-round replay in the FA Cup against League One opposition and it’s sold out.”