STRUMTHING SPECIAL
Rocking Ruben happy to be back on pitch
RUBEN NEVES is delighted to be ditching his guitar and concentrating on pulling the strings for Wolves again.
The Portugal international has been learning to play acoustic guitar in a bid to cure the lockdown blues.
But the midfielder, 23, says he’s definitely not quite up to the standard to pose any threat to his big hero, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin (below).
Neves says with a laugh: “I know there are a lot of rock stars who would love to be footballers, but if it was the other way around, then I’d like to be the lead singer with Coldplay.
“They are my favourite band and it’s their music that I always have on before we go out to play.
“Their music is always the last thing I hear before I take off my headphones to go down the tunnel.”
With Wolves these days, it’s more a case of hot play, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s men sixth in the Premier League and through to the knockout stages of the Europa League.
Neves has been at the centre of things during the incredible
rise over the past three seasons.
Wolves stormed to the Championship title and then clinched a Europa League spot with a seventh-place finish in their first season in the top flight.
Neves can’t see any reason why they can’t go even better – and says the resumption can’t come quickly enough.
He added: “How far can we go? It’s hard to say. We try not to think too much about the future, but we have a very good mentality among the lads and just try to be better and better.
“It’s a philosophy that seems to be working. We know we are in a good position but we also know there are nine games to go.
“We won’t need that much motivation because it’s easier to motivate a side that is doing well.
“We will just try our best to keep our position in the table and try to improve and go higher.”
Wolves are no strangers to behind-closed-doors matches, having played at Olympiakos just before the season came to a halt.
Neves added: “It was really strange. It’s hard to explain because you are used to playing in loud places.
“We found it was important to use the warm-up to get used to it because things are so quiet. We will be ready.”