Matt Doherty relishing Wolves' pre-season trips
Matt Doherty is excited for a positive pre-season and insists Wolves must get themselves into the best condition tactically and physically for the upcoming campaign.
The team are already in Portugal and have now been joined by a number of international players - including Doherty - after pre-season got under way on Monday.
Wolves will play two behind closed doors games next week during their time in Portugal, before returning to England for more friendlies, followed by a weekend in Spain to take on Girona in August.
It will be Wolves' first pre-season under head coach Vitor Pereira and Doherty is looking forward to a gruelling few weeks as the team prepare for the 2025/26 Premier League season and the opening day clash against Manchester City.
“I do love pre-season really, because you obviously get to work for a period of time on things that you just don’t get to do in season," Doherty said.
"You work on your fitness, your body changes, you get yourself into great condition, so I’m looking forwards to that part of it.
“Then we’ll have new players we’ll be working with, the manager will have new ideas for how he wants to play next season, so for me, pre-season is a time to get better – it’s the time to improve tactically and physically, and a good pre-season goes a long way to starting the season well.
“I wouldn’t say this pre-season is any more exciting than others, as for me they’re pretty much all the same, but it’s always exciting to see new players, see how good they are and you’re just excited to get back playing and get back into a season.
“It will also be interesting to see how the manager and his coaching staff approach the pre-season, and how pre-season is for them, because everybody knows pre-season is pretty important going into a new season.
“If you can get your pre-season right, you get off to a good start in the league and it can make all the difference.”
Doherty is one of the most experienced players in the squad at the age of 33 and he is well-known at Wolves for his long service to the club.
The future of the captaincy remains uncertain due to Nelson Semedo's situation and Doherty would be one of the names in the frame to replace him.
The Irishman is part of the leadership group at the club but regardless of whether he steps up to become skipper, he says he will not change his style in the dressing room as he keeps a level head.
Doherty added: “I’ve always been the same, not too loud, not too quiet, just consistently the same.
"I think people respect the fact I’ve been here a long time and I’m well-respected within the changing room, but I’m not going to start going ripping people’s heads off, or I’m not going to start babying people either.
“I’m literally just me in the changing room, which is relaxed and nothing can faze me too much, but I’ve always been like that. I never get too high, never get too low and just see things for what they are, and I don’t overreact too much to things, so I think in my position in the changing room has always kind of been the exact same.”
