Wolves captain Coady on West Brom clash: Players here have wanted Black Country derby for years!

Wolves captain Conor Coady says the players have been looking forward to facing West Brom for years.

For Coady, like the entire Wolves dressing room, Saturday will be the first taste of the fierce local rivalry, with Wolves and West Bromwich Albion going nine years without a meeting.

Ahead of today’s big derby, Coady said: “We’ve been looking forward to it for years, we’ve just not had a chance to play in it. It’s a game you want to play in when you join the club. The lads know the importance of the fixture and it’s a game we need to improve in.

“It’s just a shame we’ve got to do it in front of an empty stadium, that’s the worst thing about it, that’s the massive negative, but in terms of stature of game, we know all about it and can’t wait for it.

“Everybody, first and foremost, is a massive football fan in our team. We’ve all grown up supporting teams and watching derbies, and been involved in derbies as players, so we all know the significance of them when they come around and it’s no different with the Black Country derby.

“We’re all massively looking forward to it, me in particular, I knew all about it when I joined the football club and really wanted to be involved. Now it’s here, it’s absolutely fantastic, but it’s just a bit of a downer that we can’t have the Wolves fans in Molineux to experience it as well.”