Wolves' Matt Doherty loving life as he takes his game up a level

And it is hard to argue with that, writes Joe Edwards.

The 25-year-old has started 85 of Wolves’ last 90 matches.

Keen to help out going forward and solid on the back foot, he has the right wing-back spot nailed on.

Since making his debut in 2011, Doherty has proved a reliable player – and this season he has taken it to another level.

On if this is the best run of his career, he said: “Yes, I would say – and in terms of me enjoying it.

“I have been in pretty good form at times in seasons, but we were almost scraping results or trying to scrape a result.

“We are going into games now thinking we are going to win, every game.

“It gives you a lot of confidence and I love playing wing-back.

“It could be one of my best runs of form, but the most enjoyable also.”

Doherty believes a key factor in his top displays is the confidence he has in his team-mates.

He knows if he makes a run, he is very likely to be picked out.

“We’re playing with top-class players and, honestly, some of the things they do in training are just so good,” said Doherty.

“When you make a run, more often than not you get picked out.

“It’s just a really enjoyable place at the moment.”

Wolves are going into the big derby clash with Birmingham tonight as the Championship’s pace-setters.

They have scored 15 goals in their last five games, conceding just twice.

Naturally, fans are getting excited about where this side could end up – and Doherty is not fazed by the expectation.

“The buzz in the squad is really good at the moment – a great atmosphere between all the boys and the staff,” he said.

“That’s obviously down to getting results and being where we are in the league.

“If we were in mid-table, it wouldn’t be as jolly as it is now.

“It’s up to us to keep the results going and make sure the atmosphere is like that for the rest of the season.

"We’ve never really been at the top of the Championship since I’ve been here.

"It’s the way we are beating teams, good teams as well – taking them apart at the moment.

“It’s a lot different to previous seasons. It’s up to us to maintain that tag – and the players we have are good enough. We have no problem with it at all, I enjoy it.

“It means we are a good team and people think we will be successful – and it’s nice that people think that about us.”

On what he expects from the game tonight against Steve Cotterill’s side, Doherty added: “The atmosphere is always different (with derby games), it will be louder.

“With the Villa game earlier in the season, there was a different atmosphere – it is just a louder, better atmosphere. There is definitely a difference.”