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Richard Stearman - Wolves are ready

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Richard Stearman believes Wolves are 'ready to go' for the new season after their morale-boosting draw with West Midlands rivals Villa.

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Stearman captained the side as spirited Wolves came from behind twice against their Premier League opponents on Tuesday night.

Wolves had come in for criticism from boss Kenny Jackett after lacklustre showings against Burton Albion and Shrewsbury Town in their previous two friendlies.

But - after a sluggish start - they came out fighting against Villa.

Wolves will tomorrow finish their pre-season campaign with a trip to Doncaster Rovers (kick off 3pm).

Stearman felt there were plenty of positives to take from the Villa game.

"It was a very good workout and quite an enjoyable one," he said.

"I thought that was by far the best we've played all pre-season.

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"You could see the desire and the hunger was there in big amounts and I think we thoroughly deserved to get something out of the game.

"It was pleasing to fight our way back twice and show great character - it sets us up nicely for the season."

With tackles flying in, a boisterous and bumper Molineux crowd and some end-to-end action, it felt anything like a pre-season game at times.

Had Stearman played in a friendly like that before? "Not for a long time," he said.

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"The attendance was incredible and we hopefully gave the fans something to shout about.

"It felt like a cup game at times. Obviously they're a local rival and we won't get to play them for at least another season now.

"The tenacity was certainly there and the play was of a high standard as well. It was very enjoyable to play in.

"They're obviously a formidable opponent but we showed we were more than a match for them and it keeps us unbeaten in pre-season."

And of Wolves' preparations for the new campaign, Stearman said: "If you take anything from the game you can see we're geared up and ready to go.

"I'm really looking forward to the season."