Wolves v Besiktas: John Ruddy aims to right wrongs of cup
John Ruddy is determined to shine between the sticks for Wolves tonight after admitting his last outing was not good enough.
The 33-year-old is coming into a much-changed Wolves side for the final Group K game against Besiktas, writes Joe Edwards.
It is going to be his first appearance since the 2-1 loss at Villa in the Carabao Cup on October 30, and the experienced shot-stopper – who has been second-choice since the arrival of Euro 2016-winner Rui Patricio – wants to put things right.
“It’s opportunities like this that give me a chance to keep fresh,” said Ruddy.
“I was disappointed with my last performance against Villa in the cup, so, hopefully, I can bounce back and have a better one.”
Ruddy was beaten by an Anwar El Ghazi strike, which rolled in after the former Norwich man got a big hand to it, and then by a close-range Ahmed Elmohamady finish at his near post in the loss at Villa Park.
“If you go into a game and don’t have the performance you want, you might then have to wait two months for your next opportunity,” said Ruddy on life as the reserve keeper.
“Against Villa, I was disappointed with that performance from myself.
“For me, I looked at the fixture list and thought I was going to have to wait until the FA Cup (against Manchester United) in January to try to rectify that.
“Thankfully, I’ve got this game. I’m confident in my own abilities, I’ve had a very good career, and I’m hopeful it will continue for many more years.”
Where those years will be is not yet secured as Ruddy’s Wolves contract is up at the end of the season.
But he is not thinking about that. Like boss Nuno Espirito Santo, he is approaching things on a day-to-day basis.
“Honestly, I don’t know, we take it – as always have under Nuno – game-by-game, day-by-day,” said Ruddy.
“That’s how we work, so that’s a conversation for towards the end of the season between me and the club, and we’ll see where we’re both at.
“For the time being, I need to make sure I’m focused and ready for when I’m called upon, but I’m also doing the best I can to help the lads who are playing.”
Along with Ruddy, a raft of youngsters – Taylor Perry, Chem Campbell, Owen Otasowie, Oskar Buur, Andreas Sondergaard, Luke Cundle and Lewis Richards – are likely to be involved after taking part in the warm-weather training camp in Marbella.
This will be Ruddy’s fourth game of the season, and on having to wait in the wings, he added: “It’s frustrating.
“But when you have Rui in front of you playing as well as he has, there’s not much you can do.
“He has been excellent since he has come in. His CV and career speaks for itself.
“He’s been great to work alongside and he’s completely different to anyone I’ve worked with ever before – he works very close to his line, closer than anyone I’ve seen – and, clearly, it works for him.
“He’s a really good guy. His English is getting better as well
“I’ve been grateful to learn off him and some of his performances have been exceptional.”
Likely Wolves XI (3-4-3): Ruddy; Vallejo, Bennett, Kilman; Doherty, Moutinho, Perry, Vinagre; Campbell, Cutrone, Neto
