Shropshire Star

Interview: No room for sentiment as Wolves' John Ruddy returns to Norwich

John Ruddy knows a thing or two about what it takes to get out of the Championship.

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The goalkeeper has been part of two Championship promotion-winning squads and played in the Premier League for four seasons, earning international recognition with England along the way.

All of the above came during a seven-year spell with Norwich City at Carrow Road, where he'll return for the first time tonight since leaving the club in the summer.

When the 31-year-old talks, he does so from experience and without hyperbole.

So when Ruddy says Wolves' squad is the best he's ever played in, you know he means it.

He's certainly not proclaiming them as champions-elect – far from it. But the goalkeeper is undoubtedly excited about what he can achieve with his still relatively new club.

"In terms of quality of players this squad is probably the best I’ve played with," he said. "And that’s no disrespect to previous squads at Norwich.

"I think just with the quality of player we’ve got here it’s exceptional for this league."

Ruddy believes Wolves' squad is the best he's played in (© AMA / Sam Bagnall)

Ruddy and Wolves had their noses put out of joint when losing on Saturday to a struggling QPR team that had gone winless in seven.

Ian Holloway's team raised their game against Wolves' high-flyers – and Ruddy knows that'll be a recurring theme this season.

“People will look at us as a scalp and we have to deal with that," he added.

“We’re an ambitious group with ambitious staff. Apart from Saturday we’ve been brilliant this season.

“QPR made it hard for us but that’s something we’re going to have to be prepared for more often than not, teams making it hard for us to play and pressing us high up the pitch.

“We know we’re good enough to play around that. It’s just about making sure we do that game in, game out.

“We’ve got to be prepared we have got that target on our back. That’s the expectation we have to deal with.

"Keep the belief in the way we want to do things – that’s the message from the manager in the past couple of days.

"We have our beliefs on how we want to play and we know we’re good enough to implement them.

"We’re disappointed with the result at QPR and first and foremost the performance too.

"We didn’t perform to the standards we’ve set ourselves and when you don’t do that in this league that’ll be the end result.

"More often or not when we do implement them we’ll get the results we need."

Ahead of returning for the first time to a club where he spent seven successful years, Ruddy could be forgiven for being just a bit sentimental.

Far from it, though. When the keeper crosses that white line at Carrow Road tonight he insists it won't mean a great deal.

While it's sure to stir up a few emotions, you take consummate professional Ruddy's words at face value when he insists: "It’s another game.

"It’ll be nice to go back and see some familiar faces but I’m a Wolves player and I want three points, it’s as simple as that.

"Norwich is a big club and a special club to me, it gave me massive opportunities.

"I had a great time there and hold a lot of affection for the city, my family still live there, I love the area and the club was great for me as I was for the club.

"Three points are on offer and that’s what we want.

"I hope to get a good reception, it gave me massive opportunities and the chance to play in the Premier League, obviously I represented England while I was there.

"Likewise I thought I repaid the club’s faith enough for the fans to hopefully give me a good reception."

Ruddy enjoyed seven successful years at Norwich before leaving when his contract expired in the summer

There have been a number of changes at Norwich since Ruddy left. New German boss Daniel Farke made 10 first team additions including four German players.

A number of key personnel that Ruddy knows well remain though including Wes Hoolahan, Cameron Jerome, Russell Martin and Timm Klose.

What can Wolves expect from the Canaries tonight?

"From seeing what they’ve done this season and speaking to a few people I know, fans that go and watch, I think they’ve changed dramatically from the start of the season," Ruddy said.

"The manager’s obviously realised he couldn’t quite get away with implementing the style of play he wanted to in every game against every team.

"He’s adapted really well and the results they’ve had recently speak for themselves.

"We’re going to come up against a tough team – a team with pace and power up front who have been solid at the back recently too.

"I think it’ll be a good footballing contest for the neutrals because both teams will look to play."

After tonight’s clash Wolves host Fulham at Molineux on Friday ahead of a two-week international break.

They travel to Norwich with the league’s best away record and will be backed by 1,350 fans, many of whom have taken advantage of the club’s free travel offer with 12 coachloads set to make the journey to Norfolk.

Ruddy said Wolves go with full belief that they can win.

“There’s a confidence and belief in the squad,” he added.

“We’re second in the league with 29 points from 14 games, we’re only behind Sheffield United by a point so we take massive confidence from that.

“If you’d said at the start of the season we’d be in this position everyone would have taken it.

“Yes we’ve had opportunities to get more points on the board but so has every other team.

“We’ve got two tough games in quick succession against very good teams. We’re more than capable of picking up maximum points if we’re at it.

"We’ve been fairly good away from home – before Saturday the only defeat we’d had was at Sheffield United which wasn’t helped by having 10 men for most of the game.

"So away performances take care of themselves. You know you have to probably be a bit more conservative when you do go away from home but also at the same time we still have to be clinical in the way we want to play, implement our style and get the better of our individual opponents.

"You’ve got to work as hard as the opposition – that’s a given in any game. You have to have that determination and a desire to outwork the team before you can show your qualities.

"The manager makes sure we keep our feet firmly on the ground. We know what’s expected from us in every game and we have to implement our game plan.

"This international break’s a big one – we have to use it right because we don’t get another one until March.

"It’s important we’ve got the momentum going into that.

"We’ve got two games in quick succession and it’s imperative we try and get maximum points."