Soccer

Matt Doherty urges for calm after Wolves’ ‘perfect night’

Irish fullback says focus must be on Norwich clash after 4-0 win over Espanyol last week

Wolves celebrate Ruben Neves’ goal against Espanyol. Photograph: Geoff Caddick/Getty/AFP

Sat Feb 22 2020 - 12:46

Matt Doherty has urged Wolves to forget about their Europa League heroics.

Rock bottom Norwich travel to Molineux in the Premier League on Sunday after Wolves’ 4-0 win over Espanyol on Thursday.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are on the brink of reaching the last-16 of the Europa League while they are also in the hunt for fifth place in the top flight - and a possible Champions League spot.

But defender Doherty wants the squad to remain calm ahead of the visit of the Canaries.

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“The second leg now goes to the back of our minds for a while — we want to finish as high as we can in the league and see where that takes us, so now we’ll focus on Norwich,” the Ireland international told the club’s official site.

“Thursday was the perfect night for us really, with the scoreline and not conceding as well.

“We said at half-time that it was really important to us to keep a clean sheet, and we managed to score four at the other end as well, so we’re in a really strong position.”

It is Wolves’ 44th game of the season and they travel to Barcelona on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s second leg against Espanyol.

Having started in July at Crusaders in the Europa League qualifiers, Nuno’s side have remained in the hunt for the top six in the Premier League and he believes the players deserve the credit.

"It's always a challenge when you are competing like we have since July, this kind of schedule, always tight," said the boss, with only Ruben Vinagre missing with a hamstring injury.

“We have good routines and character of players, they really respect themselves and for sure are going to be ready for Sunday.

“It’s always a challenge because we’re going to face a quality team with very good players. Let’s try to be as organised as Thursday, if possible better.

“Sunday’s game is very tough because Norwich are a very good team with very good players. They play with possession and create many problems, this is our focus, to try to compete well.”

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