Wolves vs Fulham preview - Ward won`t rest on his laurels

Posted Sunday, August 21, 2011 by PA

Wolves' opening-day matchwinner Stephen Ward is refusing to take his place in the side for granted on the eve of their second Barclays Premier League clash of the season against Fulham at Molineux on Sunday.

Ward fired Wolves to a 2-1 win at Blackburn last weekend but knows he has a fight on his hands from George Elokobi to make the left-back slot his own.

Ward, who made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland earlier this summer, said: "Everyone works hard in pre-season and wants to be in the team on the opening day so it was nice to be there.

"But I know that it is a long season and everyone will have a part to play.

"You look at the squad that we have and it is a lot stronger than last year, so everyone will have a role here.

"Yes, it is nice to play on the opening day but there are 37 games to go so there is a lot of hard work needed from everyone."

Ward admits he is still on a high from the events at Blackburn.

He added: "I couldn't have asked for anything more. It is a fantastic start to the season for Wolves. I don't think it can get much better than going away from home and winning on the opening day.

"We rolled our sleeves up and showed the character that we need to do well in this league and hopefully we can push on from here."

While giving Wolves the perfect start to the season, striker Kevin Doyle hopes it has also laid out a marker for the rest of the campaign.

Wolves, who are poised to be unchanged against Fulham, struggled badly last season against the teams around them in the table yet managed to pull off wins against Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Doyle admits that more success against the teams who are viewed as the Premier League's lesser lights should ensure they avoid another frantic final-day battle for survival.

Doyle, who missed from the spot at Blackburn before Ward scored in the melee that followed, said: "Last season, we didn't get many points against the teams who were around us in the table.

"So it was nice to put a marker down, and away from home, too.

"If we can better our points total of last season we should be well clear of the bottom three and hopefully in mid-table.

"We beat Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool last season and yet we were still fighting the drop.

"If we had been told that before the start of the season, you would imagine we would be at least safely in mid-table. But because we lost so many games against the teams around us, we were in a dogfight."

Fulham manager Martin Jol is expecting a tough test against Wolves but admitted he was unaware of any bad blood between the teams.

Bobby Zamora broke his leg in a challenge with Wolves midfielder Karl Henry last September, ruling the England international out for five months.

To compound matters Fulham skipper Danny Murphy accused Mick McCarthy's side of being too "pumped up" a couple of weeks later, leading to back-and-forth comments between the two camps.

Jol admits he is unaware of any underlying animosity but expects a tough match in the West Midlands.

"I should be aware of it but I am not aware of it," said the Dutchman, who was appointed Fulham boss in the summer.

"From what I've seen of Wolves when I was abroad in Holland and Germany, they are a strong, physical team.

"They are very difficult to beat away from home but, as some teams proved last year, you need a bit of luck, quality and players that can make the difference.

"They had a very good start last week, as you know, and hopefully we can have a result over there because we need it as well. We only have one point from last weekend."

Murphy is expected to shake off a knock to feature. The 34-year-old was substituted in the midweek Europa League win against Dnipro with a slight groin complaint but is expected to start at Molineux.

Simon Davies (knee) remains a week away from action despite returning to training, while Bjorn Helge Riise (hamstring) is also out.