Ruddy Ready

John Ruddy believes Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are prepared for the start of the Sky Bet Championship.

Wolves play Middlesbrough in the season opener on Saturday (3pm) at Molineux.

 

The England international says that pre-season has stood Wolves in good stead for the season ahead.

 

“The manager is obviously aware of the league and has watched videos of the league, but English football in general is very different to what you get on the continent,” the 30-year-old said.

 

“As I mentioned earlier, in regards to the foreign opposition in Austria, those games were completely different to when we came back and played Shrewsbury, Peterborough and Leicester.

 

“I think the three games we’ve had back here have been very good because they have been different opposition which indicate exactly what the Championship is about.

 

“You get some teams that try and play, you get teams that will sit off, teams play short, go long, you get everything here.

 

“The manager’s realising that once you have your way of playing you can adapt to other teams if necessary.

 

“Our aim for this season is to be as successful as possible, hopefully that will end in promotion but at the same time we need to understand that it is a very tough league and we need to be on our game in every single game.

 

“Obviously Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday games are coming thick and fast and we’ve got to be ready to go.”

 

Ruddy joined Wolves on a two-year deal after he left Norwich City in the summer.

 

His first chance to get to know his new team mates was during the pre-season tour of Austria.

 

He feels that the trip was a perfect opportunity for the newer players in the squad to settle in.

 

Ruddy continued, “My first full day was a flight out to Austria for the nine day camp which was great.

 

“I think it helps the team spirit and cohesion within the group to have that time together, getting to know each other, gelling, not just on the pitch but off it.  

 

“There’s a great group of lads here and everyone who arrived in the summer has settled in really well”.

 

 “I think it was important that we got a good pre-season under our belt with the games we’ve had.

 

“The Austrian games were slightly different in terms of foreign opposition but then getting back to England - Shrewsbury was a bit of a wake-up call for everyone, a baptism of fire if you like.

 

“We learnt our lessons from that and gave a good performance against Peterborough and then obviously a really strong performance on Saturday against Leicester.

 

“I think when the players coming in, are as good as they are it’s easy for them to adapt to their surroundings a lot quicker.

 

“I think as a core group of players that know the league it’s massively important that we all let them know what’s coming.

 

“The League is very competitive, very tough and it’s quite a hectic schedule as well.”