Richard Stearman's fight at Wolves

Defender Richard Stearman might not be one of the six summer signings made by Wolves boss Mick McCarthy.

But two years after joining his home-town club, the 22-year-old feels he has to prove himself just as much as any of the new captures.

Amid the furious clamber for safety last spring, Stearman became almost a forgotten figure in Wolves' successful Premier League survival fight.

Having lost his place after a needless sending off against Wigan in January, the former Leicester star failed to regain a right-back spot he appeared to have nailed down due to the solid form of Ronald Zubar.

Stearman found himself on the outside looking in, ironically almost a year after a similar thing happened when playing centre-half before making way for Jody Craddock and Christophe Berra.

Not surprisingly then, the versatile defender is looking forward to making up for lost time.

He said: "Both years I've been here, I feel I've started off well and then two-thirds of the way through the season, I've found myself out of the team.

"Hopefully I'll get off to a good start again this time and try to continue all the way through. Maybe I'd do things differently regarding the sending off, but that's football.

"Things happen and you find yourself out of the team, which is hard. If you ask any player, they want to play and I'm no different.

"People take their chance and you just have to get on with it. I have to train hard and play well when I get the chance, hopefully the manager sees that and that's enough."

McCarthy has gone on record to say his players have a clean slate and Stearman is glad to be starting afresh.

He said: "Last season's done with and like the gaffer said, everyone has come back with a clean slate, so if you're the best player in your position come the first game of the season, you're going to play.

"Everyone's got a second chance and I've got to take heart from that."

Stearman also draws confidence from the knowledge that he proved himself in his first attempt in the top flight.

He said: "Like every other player who played here last season, I've drawn strength from playing at this level. I was very happy with the 20-odd games I played in the Premier League last season.

"I proved I can play at this level and hold down the position but, for whatever reason, I found myself out of the team."

Stearman's task doesn't look any easier now, with Zubar and Kevin Foley also vying to fill the right-back slot and Steven Mouyokolo challenging Jody Craddock at centre-back.

He said: "There are a lot of players for each position and we're just going to have to fight it out and whoever's got the shirt, I'll support them and hopefully they'll do the job.

"Any player in this team will say the same, that every season there seems to be a player signed in their position.

"It's just the way football is - the gaffer wants to improve the squad and rightly so.

"That will always happen and we just have to fight for the shirt."

By Tim Nash