Danny Batth interview: Wolves captain on his return to the team
Thursday 15 October 2015 15:20, UK
Wolves captain Danny Batth discusses his return to fitness and the team's promotion hopes.
After taking 47 points from the final 24 games of last season, many were anticipating that Wolves would enjoy another good season. But the loss of Bakary Sako, big-money bids for Benik Afobe, a serious injury to Nouha Dicko and a contract dispute with key midfielder Kevin McDonald had soured the mood well before September.
So when the club accepted a £2m offer from Fulham for player of the year Richard Stearman just before the transfer deadline, there was consternation. In the subsequent match at Molineux, Wolves fielded a near first-choice defence with an average age of just 22. It only exacerbated supporters' fears. They were two points above the drop zone.
But the return of captain Danny Batth after five months out injured has coincided with a significant change in atmosphere. McDonald has signed a new contract and Afobe is back in the goals. Perhaps most tellingly, in their three-goal wins over Fulham and Huddersfield, Wolves kept back-to-back clean sheets for the first time in over six months. Batth is back.
It seems appropriate to ask whether the skipper has pointed out the obvious to his team-mates, but he just laughs. "I haven't said a word, honestly," Batth tells Sky Sports. "I think it's a combination of things, really. It's nice for my name to be thrown in the hat as a reason why we've done well over the past few games, but it's not something I'll focus on."
This modesty is an attractive quality but there can be no debate - he has been badly missed. Batth ranked among the top three players in the Championship last season for both clearances and shots blocked. They are the basics of defending that are only truly conspicuous when absent. And Wolves fans had begun to forget what that felt like.
Remarkably, Batth had started every single one of Kenny Jackett's first 90 league games as Wolves manager. Ask him what it's been like to be out and the response is disarmingly frank. "It was a lot of hard work, mate. It was just basically building back up to as near as match fitness as I could be before I could get out there training.
"It's obviously good to be back. No player likes being injured. I'd been in the team for two years on the trot, basically without missing a game. So it was a bit gutting to miss the last couple of games of last season and the start of this one. But I respected the injury itself and made sure we worked around it.
"In myself, I feel fit and well. The physios and sports scientists work pretty closely together at Wolves. They've done a good job with me but it was tough. Monday to Friday you're in the thick of it but obviously at the weekend you take a back seat. You can influence things around training but it's not so easy on a match day. You're watching from the sidelines."
Now he's alongside England Under-21 international defenders Kortney Hause and Dominic Iorfa, and able to make a more tangible contribution to their development. Batth is only 25 himself - "I'm not quite ready to get my slippers out yet" - but his experience is vital and he's optimistic about forging a strong partnership with fellow central-defender Hause.
He's got that natural left foot which is always a benefit for a centre-back. He's got a good attitude and wants to do well so hopefully he'll progress.
"He's a young lad who is keen to do well and he's got that natural left foot which is always a benefit for a centre-back. He's got a good attitude and wants to do well so hopefully he'll progress. There's no reason why he won't. We've got Ethan [Ebanks-Landell] too who has had a little injury setback but he'll be pushing me and Kortney for our shirts."
It's a reminder that the potential weakness of this Wolves squad - the oldest player among them is 29-year-old David Edwards - can also be their greatness strength. There's a youthful vibe and with local lad Batth having joined the academy at the age of 10, he knows everything there is to know about life at Molineux and can be a unifying presence.
"Off the field, there's the social aspect with all the lads getting on as friends," adds Batth. "There's good banter because we've been around each other for a long time and there's always a story to bring up from the past so it's good fun. It's done in the right way because it always has to fit around the work. Everyone's hungry to improve every day."
Wolves fans will be encouraged to hear that, and the sight of McDonald and Afobe looking so focused again is an added bonus. "They're both good players aren't they? We saw last season that they can often link up with some good play in games and they're strong players for us. They're key players for us to keep at the club and we're happy to have them."
So is there stability now? Asked if things have settled down with the window shut, Batth agrees. "I'd say so. We've secured the future of a couple of the players who had contracts up next summer so that's obviously positive for the club. It means we've got a base of players committed to the club, all on the same page and who know what their futures are."
The plan, of course, is for that future to be in the Premier League. But with even bottom-club Bristol City spending big in the summer, it's a daunting prospect. Sunday's opponents Derby County boast arguably the most talented squad in the Championship and Batth is aware of just how difficult it can be to succeed at this level.
"Everyone knows how tough the Championship is and year after year it goes down to the wire," says Batth. "Teams put good runs of form together and it's about who does it consistently over the course of a season. That's what we're looking to do this year. It's still early days. Hopefully, we can be judged from now and take our form into the Derby game."
Wolves' last trip to the iPro Stadium doesn't offer too much to encourage the team. Derby's 5-0 victory in November did not flatter the home side but Batth is hopeful that this young team has grown since then and points to Queens Park Rangers' 4-0 defeat at Fulham last month as evidence that the Championship is always capable of throwing up such results.
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"It happens," he adds. "I was watching Fulham against QPR. These kind of results happen and nobody knows why. It's something every Championship team has got to go through at some stage but we're a young side and it's something we've learnt from. You've got to be able to come through a game, perhaps not play well but win a game or pick up a point."
If Wolves can do that at the weekend, the excitement of the spring really will return and the skipper welcomes the dream of leading the team back to the Premier League. Even the club's recent back-to-back relegations didn't succeed in killing off supporters' aspirations for good. "It's certainly the tag you get when you're captain of Wolves," he says.
"There's an expectation with the fan base we have and the history. It's something I've always wanted to achieve and I'd be delighted if it came to fruition." With him installed once more in the heart of Wolves' defence, it's a prospect that looks rather more feasible than it did just a matter of weeks ago. Danny Batth is back.
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