Doherty backs Wolves to complete task
Matt Doherty is on a mission to extend his remarkable journey from the English third tier to the Europa League group stages with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Doherty came into the Wolves team as a regular in 2013 when the club were in League One following two successive relegations. But after promotion to the Championship under Kenny Jackett, the wing-back has emerged as a crucial player in Nuno Espirito Santo’s revolution.
Wolves finished seventh in the Premier League last season and are 90 minutes from clinching a place in the Europa League group stages against Torino tonight.
“It would be unbelievable to complete the job, considering where we were a few years ago,” Doherty said. “It is a huge opportunity for us. We have the lead and we back ourselves to get through it.”
Wolves secured a 3-2 win in Turin last week and face the Serie A club at a sold-out Molineux, where Doherty insists his side will continue to stick by their attacking principles. “We are playing at home so we aren’t going to play to just preserve the result as it is,” he said. “That will probably backfire, so we have to go and try and win the game.”
Wolves’s Europa League campaign started on July 25 and Nuno admitted fatigue had started to affect his players after the 1-1 draw with Burnley on Sunday, but is urging them to maintain their focus.
“We don’t take last week’s result into account. We start from zero – that’s how we approach it,” the head coach said. “We are really embracing all the games we have in front of us. We want to compete and perform against Torino. The players want to raise their game.”