‘Mum’ who helped make Ryan mighty

RYAN BENNETT is having the time of his life at Wolves – it’s just a shame Dorothy Hopper isn’t here to share it.

Bennett, 28, has never forgotten the time he found a surrogate mum at the age of 16, when he was seeking a living in football, miles from home.

Released at 15 by Ipswich, he went to Grimsby, then Peterborough and Norwich in a £3.25million move – only to find himself battling to stay in the Championship after Wolves snapped him up on a free.

Bennett (below) said: “I’m struggling to think of a time when it has gone better for me than now at Wolves – but it’s not been all plain sailing. I didn’t play for the first 14 games of our title-winning season in the Championship – and people were asking questions.

“But I’ve always been dealing with that. I was told at 15 I wouldn’t get a scholarship at Ipswich and moved away from my family to Grimsby.

“But I learned about life. I moved in with a lady in digs who taught me how to cook, it made me grow up. She took me in and treated me like her son.

“Even when I left Grimsby, we stayed in contact.

“Dorothy saw me play for Norwich, came with me to Wembley with Grimsby and saw the League One play-off final with Peterborough at Old Trafford.

“Sadly, she died a couple of years ago now, but I owe her a lot.

“And there are still things now that Neil Woods, my first boss at Grimsby, told me, that I rely on to this day.”

It’s a far cry from televised Premier League games, like facing Newcastle United tomorrow night.

“That shows where we are as a club at the moment,” added Bennett.