Dan Bentley has reiterated his ambition to become Wolves’ first-choice goalkeeper ahead of the new Premier League campaign as he aims to prove his worth to Julen Lopetegui during pre-season.
The former Brentford and Bristol City stopper, who is now part of Wolves’ senior leadership group which looks to maintain standards on and off the pitch, made his top flight debut towards the end of the previous term, as he stepped out twice in the Old Gold’s final three matches.
Bentley has started both of Wolves' training matches in pre-season so far, but as the competition between himself and Jose Sa heats up following the Portuguese's return to Compton Park, the 30-year-old insists he doing everything possible to claim the number one spot.
On Wolves' number one battle
“That’s the reason I’m here and that’s the reason why I do what I do every day and the hard work that goes in is to get in the team and play every week. I’ve been fortunate enough in my career – obviously through a lot of hard work – that I’ve been number one at every club I’ve been at and at no point did I ever dismiss the fact that I wanted to be a number one when I joined Wolves.
“In terms of my aspirations, they were to come in and play, and in terms of pre-season, it’s in full swing and although I’m not a huge fan of pre-season – and I’m sure most footballers would tend to agree – I can’t wait for the serious stuff to start.
“Those are the moments and the situations that I thrive off, so I need to use pre-season exactly for what it is, get myself prepared for the season and it’s up to me to prove that I’m capable and worthy of being number one for this football club.”
On coming through the EFL
“There’s not a one-size-fits-all route to the Premier League. Would I have liked to have been there when I was 21 and had a 10 or 15-year career in the Premier League? Absolutely.
“But I always strived to play at this level and I managed to achieve a lifelong dream last year and now it just made me hungrier for more. I just want to play week in week out and play as many games in the Premier League as possible.”
On being a leader in the dressing room
“Ruben [Neves] left us in the summer and Conor Coady was also a big figure in the dressing room before he went on loan last season, so losing those two senior figures presented an opportunity to myself and the other senior boys in the group to become part of a core leadership group who are striving to improve standards and maintain the standards that we have at the football club.
“That’s from top to bottom, on the pitch and off the pitch.
“Along with the rest of the boys in the leadership group, I’ve set up a fines list and there will be fines this year. Nobody wants to be fined and nobody wants to fine anybody, but it’s a good thing to maintain standards, accountability and responsibility for all our actions.”
On maintaining standards
“The club will do the due diligence on who they bring into the football club, that’s as players as well as people. It was always clear to me when I was joining the football club that they want the correct players, of course, but they also want the right people and they want to recruit people and players who will contribute to the dressing room as well as on the pitch.
“We want every player who joins this football club to have the same ethos and standards on and off the pitch. I fully trust the club will make the correct decisions with who they see fit to join us.”
Wishing a very happy 30th to @dan_bentley1!
— Wolves (@Wolves) July 13, 2023
🎈🎂 pic.twitter.com/YMyRnwIBNa
On working with Lopetegui
“He's a man that knows what he wants. He’s very demanding of us in training and in games, of course, he has a certain style of play which he expects us to follow, but he also allows us to lead ourselves in ways as well.
“Off the pitch, a lot of the senior boys – myself included – police the changing room, although the manager has the final say, but he gives us a certain degree of responsibility and accountability which is key.
“But in terms of working under him, he’s someone who knows what he wants, he’s really passionate, he has very clear ideas and he translates those ideas to us on a daily basis, so it’s been a great experience to work under him so far.”
On adapting to the modern goalkeeping style
“If I look back at my days with Southend United in League Two, I was showing the ball to Barry Corr as many times as possible throughout a game and playing off second balls. I’ve had the education of not playing too much [with the ball] in League Two and then I was thrown in the deep end with Brentford as the wanted me to have the ball at my feet and build up from the back, which was absolutely imperative for the style of play we had there.
“I’ve experienced that and I know how it works. I’m very studious of the game and it was made reference in the Champions League last season with Ederson and how Onana was basically playing as a ‘quarterback’, so it’s something I feel I can work on and improve on.
“The manager has his ideas of what he expects of me and what he wants from me and the rest of the goalkeepers here, so it definitely is something I’ve been working on, but it’s definitely something that has been adapted over recent years.
“Over two thirds of goalkeeping now is with the ball at our feet, so we need to be well equipped in that department to be able to cope with the modern day demands football brings.”
