Matt Doherty joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as an 18-year-old with big dreams in his eyes. One dream was to play in the Premier League and the second was to play Champions League football.
Having achieved the first, by enjoying a career spanning a decade and counting with Wolves, Doherty is now closer than ever to realising his second dream too.
Wolves are currently sixth in the Premier League table, trailing fourth-placed Chelsea by five points. With the English top division set to resume in a fortnight, the side has nine games to close down the gap and storm to a debut Champions League season. “Growing up I always wanted to play in the Premier League and now I get to resume living my dream, which is playing games and I can’t wait to get back.
“We were doing really well before the break and I just can’t wait to resume and see where we finish,” Doherty told Sportstar in an interaction organised by Star Sports which will beam the matches live from June 17.
The 28-year-old Irishman says although social distancing norms are in place, it isn’t applicable during competitive football. “Once the whistle goes, everything will be the same except for no fans in the stadium. We will still be tackling and be beside each other. It is impossible to be social distancing while playing football.”
Wolves’ last game was a closed-door affair (against Olympiacos in the Europa League) and Doherty felt it would take a while for footballers to get used to playing in quiet stadiums.
Wolves’ last win in the Premier League was a 3-2 victory over Tottenham, a game in which Doherty made his 250th appearance for the club and also scored.
“To win all nine matches will be difficult but we came off the back of a win over Tottenham and I don’t see why we can’t go and achieve something really special.”
