Shane Tudor will be joining Paul and Otto for this afternoon's live match blog, giving updates during the Wolves V Athletic Bilbao friendly - Click here to go to written commentary.

Living the dream, many would say. As a life long Wolves fan, I was privileged to pull on the old gold and black shirt and play for the club I had travelled the length of the country to support.

As a player, I was fast tracked through to the first team and fought on a daily basis for a chance to breakthrough and establish myself in the starting eleven. I travelled home and away for three years with the first team with limited opportunities, however I did become highly experienced in making tea and coffee and a master chef in preparing microwave meals.

After making the difficult decision to put my career first, I finally left Wolves and moved on to progress as a player and gain first team football. I was fortunate to play with and against many of the top elite performers. The fond memories and joyous moments were often over shadowed by serious injuries, operations and rehab, hindering any chance for myself to progress.

I finally retired after a decade of pre-seasons and lost the battle to continue with a knee injury. I had spent longer periods in a hospital bed than playing football and finally the scales tipped in the favour of retirement. No regrets, just proud and fortunate to have experienced what many people dream of during their lives.

Having grown up on a council estate not far from Molineux, I embarked on a career of combining sport with education and helping young people engage and gain accreditation to achieve a brighter future.

Special needs, behavioural problems, young offenders, and neets (not in employment or education) all have programmes by Sporting Stars moulded and adapted to the needs of the young people. Helping each individual to progress, gain confidence and develop life skills to aid progression in their lives.

Along the way, I have undertaken a Media degree and am currently completing the final stages.

I am coming to the end of my placement at Wolves within the Communications department. The Experience has been strange - seeing old faces - but the help and support I have received from within as helped me to gain valuable knowledge and understanding of the media environment.