"You play this game to win honours" says Wolves keeper John Ruddy
John Ruddy says Wolves' FA Cup fairytale is within touching distance – as they plot a course to try and beat Manchester United on Saturday.
Ruddy is expected to be between the sticks – as he has been for every round so far – when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Red Devils come to town this weekend.
And he said it was a fixture for everyone in the squad to embrace.
"As a senior English player, the FA Cup still has that fairytale feeling about it," Ruddy said.
"No matter what people may say about the competition, to be able to say you’ve been to a final or a semi-final at Wembley is what you aim for.
"You play this game to win honours and we know this opportunity is within touching distance, but we have a long way to go before we can start thinking about that.
"When you get into the latter stages of the cup, it becomes clearer as to who you can draw.
"When there were four teams left, including ourselves, Brighton and Millwall, you think 'we might stand a chance' – and then we get United.
"But we’ve still got half a chance, we’ve still got a really good chance. I think the performances that we’ve shown this season; not just in the cup but in the league as well, show we’ve got a really good squad, capable of battling against any team.
"We’ll look forward to it, it’s going to be a really tough game, but one we’ll embrace.
"It’s been a tough cup run, we had Liverpool in the third round, a couple of really tough games against Shrewsbury and then another tough game against Bristol City, so we’re expecting more of the same against a team which is arguably in the best form of any team in the country.
"But we’re looking forward to the challenge and we’re looking forward, again, to pitting ourselves against the best players and the best teams."
Wolves are seventh in the top flight and in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, surpassing most fans' expectations for the season.
It's not a shock for the players, though.
Ruddy said: "This season in the league has been an incredible season. It’s a testament to how far the club’s come under the ownership and with the manager over the last couple of years.
"But it’s not been a surprising one for ourselves because within the group we were all quietly confident that we were going to be able to do something pretty special and we’ve been doing that.
"We were on 40 points with 11 games to go, which as a promoted team, 40 points is always your target. In this era, with the players and the clubs that have the backing and clout that they do, we’re right in the mix and we’ve given ourselves a fantastic platform in the league, and in the cup as well.
"We’re fighting on all fronts and it’s something we’re very proud of. We’ve only got a small squad, but we’ve got a really good squad and that’s come to the fore this season in both competitions."
