SUAREZ PUT COADY RIGHT
LEADING out Wolves in the Premier League doesn’t faze Conor Coady – after all, as a teenager at Liverpool, he was schooled by Luis Suarez.
The cultured defender, 25, has been given the armband by Nuno Espirito Santo and has thrived in his role at the heart of the Black Country club’s defence.
Recalling his time against Suarez (below) in training, Coady said: “I don’t know about toughening me up – but back then Luis used to frighten me.
“He used to twist me inside out all the time.
“But it was a brilliant experience. I was only a kid trying to learn and improve – and he was a sensational player.
“But I’ve stuck at it. It’s in your character about sticking in there. You can’t throw in the towel – even if you are faced with brilliance.
“Sergio Aguero is another one. I’ve played against him a couple of times now in the past two years.
“He’s clever. He always starts behind you. He’s always offside. It’s tough to find him because he’s never in your eyeline.”
Coady has been as good as his words, persisting at progressing his career.
He made a decision, given what was in front of him on Merseyside, to leave on loan, first for Sheffield United and then for Huddersfield.
He moved from the Terriers to chance his luck at Wolves and has played a key part in the revival as a core of domestic players have been married superbly to a collection of foreign imports.
And a smashed ceiling in the gym is testament to a camaraderie that undermines the theory that newly promoted teams cannot thrive in their first season in the Premier League.
The Wolves skipper said: “This is probably the best dressing-room I’ve been in. We do have a lot of foreign lads. They aren’t just good players, they are fantastic people.
“There’s loads of stuff going on here. Head tennis, table tennis, cricket... they join in with the cricket, but they aren’t great – Ruben Neves is the best.
“But they are particularly good at head tennis. Neves and (Joao) Moutinho are at a different level to anyone else.
“As for the cricket, the holes are bad, aren’t they? Big John Ruddy hits it hard. The staff went mad the first time it happened, but there’s nothing they can do now.
“Big John buys a few balls and the boys start smashing them around the gym.
“The other day, Ryan Bennett belted it and Niall Ennis, one of our Under-23s, was on a bike.
“He’s turned his head at the wrong time and it has clopped him straight in the face... he was all right.
“But it’s a good laugh for the boys.”