Stan Collymore believes that we should not underestimate the importance of Wolves duo Conor Coady and Matt Doherty.
He says that the likes of Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio are all players from overseas that deserve all of the praise that come their way after recent performances, but has admitted that we should not “underestimate” the importance of Coady and Doherty.
Collymore also names Ryan Bennett as a player who has also been important, but he reserved his praise for his two teammates.
“The overseas lads — Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio, in particular — have earned plenty of plaudits and understandably so,” he said in his Mirror column.
“But don’t underestimate the importance of Conor Coady, Ryan Bennett and Matt Doherty in what they have achieved this season and before it.
“Coady and Doherty have been at the club for several years now, and their roles in helping the foreign players find the right areas to live, the right places to relax and the right schools to send their children to will have been a huge help in them settling in so quickly.
“It’s not easy to build a team spirit like that and get everyone pulling together, but at Wolves it’s obviously something they have done well.”
OPINION
There is absolutely no denying the impact the likes of Jimenez and Jota have made on the team since they arrived. Jimenez has especially made strides recently, and like Collymore pointed out, he is one player who deserves all of the plaudits that come his way. However, he is right to point out just how important the likes of Coady and Doherty have been to the team. Without them, their defence would not be as strong as it is, and there is no doubt that they have contributed to the team spirit that has gathered around the club lately. Many have said that Coady is one of the most underestimated English defenders out there, and that has been reinforced by the fact that he has not been called up to the recent England squad. Nevertheless, this should not be the thing that defines players like Coady. Him and Doherty have been central to the team’s success this season, that is for sure.