WOLVES PACK IS STRONG’

Harry Pratt

WOLVES possess the necessary depth and quality to cope on both the domestic and European fronts this season.

That is the message from experienced goalkeeper John Ruddy (left) as the Midlands men prepare to host Manchester United tomorrow night in the Premier League.

That monster Molineux clash comes just four days after Wolves completed an

8-0 aggregate thrashing of Armenia’s FC Pyunik to progress into the next qualifying round of the Europa League.

But while competing in those competitions has proved a huge problem for English clubs in recent seasons – most notably last year when Burnley suffered a turbulent opening six months to their Premier League campaign after crashing out of Europe – Ruddy does not envisage any such issues for Nuno Espiroto Santo’s troops.

Stopper

The Wolves stopper is adamant the 4-0 victories in each leg over FC Pyunik, achieved with a virtual second string, demonstrates the overall strength of the squad.

And what fills Ruddy with even more confidence is that no matter how much their Portuguese boss shuffles his pack, his team still play with the same identity and style.

Discussing that seemingly seamless transition from Premier League to Europa League, Ruddy, one of nine changes from last weekend’s opening weekend 0-0 draw at Leicester, said: “The performance in general was good, and again, it’s about building a platform.

“We showed last year during our FA Cup run players can come into our team and adapt perfectly well.

“That’s because we have our set way of playing and our philosophy - and everyone knows that.

“A couple of new lads came in on Thursday – and it was like they’ve been here the whole time.”