'I do think he will become regarded as more of a legend as time passes'

Of a young 18-year-old, a reserve with his team in Ireland, playing in a couple of friendlies against Premier League teams.

And then, thanks to his performances, being signed by one of those teams, for the princely sum of £75,000 compensation. Giving up work for his father’s carpet cleaning business in the process.

Of then, working his way up along with several loan spells to become a first-team regular. Becoming a great survivor of a team which goes down a division, then up two, and plays in Europe, enjoying its most successful spell for generations.

Of leaving, turning out for two recent European winners in Tottenham and Atletico Madrid, playing for some of the game’s biggest managers. Mourinho, Conte, Simeone.

Then returning to the original club for another three years, moving into the top 20 appearance makers, and becoming one of the key voices of experience in a Premier League dressing room.

Got it yet? Presumably, yes. It’s quite a tale, and has been quite the journey, for Matthew James Doherty, aged 34-and-a-half.

His departure from Molineux this summer, for the second and probably last time, was, while still shrouded in an element of mystery, clearly not the smoothest.

On Sunday, also not for the first time, he will line up against Wolves. Previously it was with Tottenham, now it’s Sheffield United.

And the question which lingers on is: ‘Where does Doherty stand in the realms of Wolves’ history?’ As a value for money signing, as a player enjoying a key role in the most exciting and successful era of recent times, as a full-back or wing-back who made so many decisive attacking contributions, has he actually received the credit he deserves?

“I think he will always love his time at Wolves and the story of how he came through, and I do think he will become regarded as more of a legend as time passes.”

The words of Stephen Hunt, who started off as a team-mate, then became a friend, and is now Doherty’s representative, who completed the deal to take him to Bramall Lane after it became clear staying at Molineux was not an option.

Hunt continues: “The levels he played at, going down to League One and then all the way to the Premier League and Europe, the highest Wolves have been for so many years and miles ahead of where we were when I was at the club – I think he deserves that sort of recognition.

“Wolves have a great history and have had some great players but I do think he should be regarded as one of the best full-backs of recent times.”

When you consider that there was a spell across two years of the Premier League when Doherty was second only to Trent Alexander-Arnold for goals and assists from right-back, he has certainly held his own in the highest of company.

And yet, the story of Matt Doherty and Wolves is one so rarely told and perhaps under-appreciated in the world of football. Particularly with how it all began.

Playing for Bohemians in the League of Ireland, he got the chance, at 18, to play in a friendly against Wolves, as the main first team had come through a league fixture against Sligo the night before.

He was up against Matt Jarvis, and Wolves won 3-0, but he had done enough to make an impression.

“I do remember coming up against Doc, even though I’d probably say he didn’t leave the impression of, ‘wow, who is this kid’?” Jarvis recalls. “He’s not that typically quick overlapping full-back, is he? But you could definitely tell he had something.

“He was tenacious, willing to do the hard yards, to put a tackle in, and as we have seen throughout his career, he is very good going forward.

“I remember thinking straightaway that he had an eye for being in the right place at the right time.

“Even as a young player, he would work closely to the winger and make sure he was in contention to make a challenge or block a cross rather than flying in and leaving himself open.

“He didn’t give me that much time on the ball, and had that in-game intelligence already that you might not have expected from a young player coming up against a Premier League side.”

Doherty himself didn’t think he fared too well against Jarvis and Wolves. But the following weekend, against an Aston Villa side including the likes of Downing, Young, Agbonlahor, Petrov and Carew, he was far better.

Having said that, such was the depth and knowledge of Wolves’ recruitment within Ireland at that time, the decision to move for Doherty was about far more than just a couple of friendly appearances.

“I’d been watching Doc’s progress even before he was with Bohemians, when he was at Belvedere from under-14s upwards,” recalls former Wolves chief scout Dave Bowman. “Belvedere were one of the best boys’ clubs in Ireland and I had a good relationship with the sporting director at Bohs, and, with all our connections in Ireland, and having Mick (McCarthy) as manager, we were across all the young players coming through.

“I’d seen him playing for Bohemians Under-18s and then there were the games against Wolves and Villa, and straightaway I could see he had something, and in particular, he was very good on the ball.

“I said to Mick that we needed to sign him, and Mick had that trust in me that he would take that information to Jez (CEO Jez Moxey) and the club got the deal done.

“Of course, Mick would always look at a player he was going to sign, but we worked so closely together that we had that trust, and Doc was one of those we could move quickly on because we’d known about him for so long.

“We did well with a lot of players from Ireland at that time, and Doc was certainly one of those who turned into a really good deal both for him and the club.”

Doherty had spent time with trials at many different clubs, including Celtic, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and indeed Sheffield United, but at Wolves, finally, he had his chance.

But arriving at Molineux and Compton in the summer of 2010 was where the hard work really began.

Starting out with reserve team football as it was then, he was actually stretchered off and required oxygen in one of his first appearances against Newcastle, but, after a short absence, soon started to develop and impress.

He made his first-team debut in an FA Cup tie at Doncaster just before his 20th birthday, and then his league bow, the Premier League, as a half-time substitute against Liverpool – including Gerrard and Suarez – at Anfield in September 2011.

It wasn’t always easy, loan spells with Hibernian and Bury provided plenty of ups and downs to harden the character as well as his football, and as the club’s fortunes dwindled, Doherty grew stronger.

His first sustained run in the first team came under Dean Saunders, and his first goal away at Nottingham Forest, but double relegation was sealed at Brighton, and the first big setback of his career.

“Matt was visibly upset in that game, and to be fair he didn’t get any sympathy from me, which sounds really harsh, but back then it was about having to toughen up and get on with it,” Hunt recalls. “Back then it was about battling through, and not showing any emotion, and obviously it was a really toxic time at the club, because in a way the club needed to be relegated, it needed to be cleaned out.

“It did show to me how much Matt cared, and has continued to care, and from that low moment for the players and the club, he went on and built a career at Wolves which took him right to the top.”

It did indeed. Doherty was a key figure in the League One renaissance, then swept the board in the Player of the Year awards while operating at left-back of a four a couple of years later, prior to becoming a wing-back extraordinaire under the glory days of Nuno.

By Doherty’s own admission, it was at this point of his career that he started to live properly off the pitch and look after himself better. It was also the time he settled down and started a family. The stars aligned and the results were spectacular.

One of the Premier League’s finest right-backs, he excelled, continuing his ability to pop up with crucial late goals, including providing one of the very best Molineux moments against Manchester City, not to mention scoring in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Showing all his technical ability, an innate sense of movement and positioning, a metronomic pace whether going forwards or back, and an unflappable nature.

“He was a nightmare when I was up against him in training, because his distances were always really good and he’s so effective at reading the game, so I was never able to take advantage of any vulnerabilities which I tried to do in my prime,” says Hunt. “I would try to use my own in-game intelligence to pinpoint any weaknesses, but with players like Doc, and I’d add in Kevin Foley and John O’Shea, they were so clever with their body positions.

“Doc just knew what to do, whether it was getting in the way of something, allowing the ball out of play, coming inside onto his left foot, getting in behind – he usually made the right decision.

“I think his best times at Wolves came when he had a left-footed player ahead of him down the right, whether that was Helder Costa or Pedro Neto, or someone like Diogo Jota who would often want to cut inside.

“Doc had the connection with those players and they knew that he’d be able to go down the outside and he could make deep-lying runs which helped make him a real attacking threat from that wing-back position.

“That could be by providing assists, or coming in at the far post and scoring goals, and he made sure he was physically strong enough to make sure that every run counted.”

Alongside that footballing ability came the unshakeable character. To some, he may seem quiet and withdrawn. But coming from a large family with a brother and five sisters, and unshakeable support from Dad Tom and Mum Joni, Doherty’s social skills have never been in doubt.

It is more a case of preferring to keep himself to himself, but with a strong and generous attitude, not to mention a sense of humour which sees his face light up like a Christmas tree on regular occasions.

“I mean this in a nice way, but he can be a strange fish,” says Hunt. “I went out for lunch with him last week and came away thinking, ‘what on earth is going through your head’?

“But he’s very likeable and entertaining, quirky with a great sense of humour and, when he gets to know you, he’s brutally honest as well, which is good.

“We’re really good friends but quite opposite as people, and another of his really good friends is Seamus Coleman, who is also very different in personality.

“I can say this for sure…Doc has always been highly respected by his team-mates in dressing rooms.”

“I don’t think it would have been easy for Doc,” adds Jarvis.“He had to bide his time, work hard, build up his fitness and was following in the footsteps of right backs like Foles (Kevin Foley) and Ronald Zubar.

“And you have to be a certain character to come over to a different country, a different environment and go into a new dressing room.

“Doc went in and took his time, evaluated the process and that environment, and then he really flourished.

“One of the best things you can ever say about a player is the consistency that they have. I would say that about Foles, and that was definitely the same with Doc, seven out of 10 most weeks, as well as being able to pop up with a crucial goal.

“You can tell from the amount of games he played how well that he did for Wolves, and it was that hard to replace him that they then brought him back.”

For Bowman, Doherty was one of many Irish players he recruited for both Wolves and Sunderland, and still believes the league provides so many young talents with the opportunity to make the grade.

His work as a consultant with Nike also saw him keep in touch with Doherty when he moved on from Wolves to Tottenham, as well as when he worked with McCarthy in his second stint as Ireland boss.

“It was lovely to link up with him again when we were back with Ireland – he’s had a great career,” says Bowman.

The scores on the doors show why the young teenage Irishman proved such a handy pick-up for Wolves all those years ago.

A total of 389 Wolves appearances, putting him 16th in the club’s all-time list, and 33 goals from defence.

More than 500 career outings and counting, including 190 in the Premier League. Fifty three appearances with the Republic of Ireland.

And Wolves enjoyed all that service along with an incredibly healthy profit, buying him for £75,000, selling him for £15 million and then bringing him back on a free.

That second spell brought a slightly different Doherty. He had never been shy of making lively public pronouncements, openly declaring from the first week of the 2017/18 season that Wolves were going to win the Championship title. There was not a single bit of him that would temper those predictions down, even when asked to. And, he was right, wasn’t he?

By the time he returned, those words were more measured, but equally impactful. On the pitch he was also captain on numerous occasions, and delivered the infamous ‘do we want to be remembered as cowards?’ interview before Christmas last season. Wolves’ spiralling fortunes were hurting Doherty, and he felt it important to speak out. And the fans appreciated him all the more for it.

“There are different ways to be a character, and different ways to be a leader, and I think as he grew into a more senior player in the dressing room Doc felt he needed to speak out,” adds Hunt. “I think throughout his career he has led by example, even if that is in his own way, and I am sure Wolves fans appreciate his service and loyalty, and his quality as a player.”

There was no chance to say farewell to those fans at the end of last season, which remains a shame. But break-ups of long-standing relationships are seldom comfortable. At the same time, there is a level of respect on both sides that will always keep things cordial.

Those Wolves fans are usually very good judges. They recognise quality, loyalty, and those who give their all, which Doherty, even in a different style, always delivered.

Those fans will also, of course, want him to have a stinker for however many minutes he is on the pitch come Sunday lunchtime.

But behind all that will be an understanding and realisation of just what he gave to Wolves over so many years, and his place in the club’s history at what was such a special time.

One day you would hope the opportunity will arise for him to return and for player and fans to acknowledge the times and experiences that they both shared and savoured.

From cleaning carpets and marking Matt Jarvis in a friendly, to scoring at Wembley and flourishing with Wolves on the European stage, it has, indeed, been quite the story.