Wolves striker Nouha Dicko enthused by new challenge under Nuno

With yesterday’s capture of England international goalkeeper John Ruddy, Wolves have signed seven players already this summer.

Ryan Bennett, Roderick Miranda, Phil Ofosu-Ayeh, Barry Douglas, Willy Boly and £15million record signing Ruben Neves have also signed up so far – and Wolves certainly aren’t done yet.

Dicko, speaking before the squad departed for Austria yesterday, said of the new blood: “It shows the ambition of the club, of the owners, of everyone here.

“We see that, we notice it. With the season coming we’ll have to do a lot better than the season before.

“It’s good for everyone; the fans, the players, for competition, to see players come in.

“If some of us want to grow we have to deal with it. Competition is normal and important for everyone.

“The transfer window is still big, I don’t know if the club has finished all its business, but it might be better to finish everything quite early and to know in which direction we’re going.

“I think it’s better for the players and the team.Hopefully we’ll have a better season.”

Nuno Espirito Santo has been working the squad hard during his first two weeks on the training pitch, with double sessions and plenty of fitness work.

Dicko said it felt like a fresh start for everyone in the squad.

"It’s been tough but really good," he added. "It’s a new philosophy. He’s trying to make us learn his way of playing, his way of viewing things, and we’ve quite enjoyed it so far.

"Hopefully we’ll be able to take that into the first games and into the season. The sessions have been really good and everyone is feeling good.

"I think it feels like a fresh start for a lot of players. There are some changes again but that’s football, we have to deal with it.

"It’s a fresh start for everyone but at the end it’s still the same football club, we have to defend this badge like we have in the past.

"To be honest we’re really confident and hopefully we’ll be able to have a good season."

Players traditionally dread coming back for pre-season and enduring endless fitness work.

Dicko, though, was the opposite this summer. After missing last year’s pre-season as he recovered from a cruciate knee ligament injury, he couldn’t wait to hit the ground running this time around.

He added: “It was a big thing for me to start this pre-season.

“I was really looking forward to it – I think it’s not often you look forward to working hard in pre-season! It was something I needed.

“I don’t want to make excuses, as I’ve said before, but I think pre-season is a big thing for any player.

“I’ve been feeling good in training, we’ll see in the game how it goes for the team and me. I’m really looking forward to the game.”