Matt Doherty: Wolves have plenty to play for

Victory over Luton ended a seven-game winless run in Wolves’ penultimate home game of the season.

They now travel to Manchester City this weekend in the first of their final three games, with ambitions of causing an upset and doing the double over Pep Guardiola’s side.

“It wouldn’t be allowed,” Doherty said on not letting standards slip.

“The results haven’t been going for us, but we’re still pushing hard to win the games every time.

“We’re not in holiday mode or anything like that, there’s plenty for us to play for, personally and as a club. It’s nice to go into the week with a win.

“It was massive for us. No win in seven and we still have aspirations to finish in the top 10, so we knew with two home games and two away games left, we knew the home games were vitally important.

“We made it a bit close for comfort at the end, more than we needed to, but it was a good win.

“At home, you want to score goals in front of your fans. You want them to go home happy and give them a good weekend, so all next week they’ll feel good about the team going into the City game.

“The win doesn’t only affect the changing room, it affects the city and the fans, so it’s going to be a good week.

“We’ve got a whole week to prepare for City. We’ve beaten them already this season, so it’s a game we want to be competitive in and cause a bit of a shock at the top of the league.”

After playing understudy to Nelson Semedo all season and seeing his opportunities limited, experienced defender Doherty has now started five of the last six games.

“It’s what you live for, it’s what you want to do,” the Irishman said.

“You want to play as much as you can and I’m enjoying it now.

“I’ve always enjoyed it, but you enjoy it a bit more when you’re playing. Let’s see what happens now, we’ve got the win and a big game next.”

Against Luton, he also lined-up alongside Semedo in the starting XI.

Doherty added: “I think it was natural (to take turns attacking). It wasn’t a game plan, it was just natural, we were linking together, and we did it against Burnley away, and it worked quite well.

“We may overplay a little bit, but we’re confident players, we obviously believe in our own ability and each other, so when we give the ball to each other, it’s because we have full confidence in each other.”