Had things gone differently for Stephen Ward's career, he might be playing for Sunderland against Wolves on Saturday rather than the other way around.

The striker had trials with the Wearsiders but seemed to flourish after that. Now he goes to the Stadium of Light as a Wolves player for what will be the most significant Championship match of the day.

The match will also allow him to renew acquaintances with Anthony Stokes and Daryl Murphy, his Republic of Ireland Under-21 colleagues.

Wolves lost 6-0 at home to Southampton last Saturday and are aiming to bounce back from arguably the strangest result in this division this season.

"It will be good to catch up with Daryl, who came from the same league [in Ireland] as me, and Anthony, but the result is much more important than those issues," Ward said.

"It's as big a test as we could be facing because of the form Sunderland have been in. They're absolutely flying and you can imagine what the atmosphere is going to be like up there.

"I suppose it's the ultimate test in this division at the moment, although we have had great wins already at Derby County and Preston North End and done well in many other away games."

Ward has never played at the Stadium of Light but did have a quick look around the place during his trial two years ago. He has respect for the club, particularly their manager, Roy Keane.

"Roy Keane is one of the best players my country has produced and a lot of my mates in Ireland will be interested that I'm up against his team this weekend," Ward said.

"I don't think there was ever any doubt that he would be a success as a manager. He has made some good signings and has his team playing very well. I've never met him and don't suppose I will on Saturday, although I expect to hear plenty from him on the touchline.

"We know we have to move on very quickly from what happened against Southampton and we're still upbeat. The unbelievable response from the fans late in the game helped us a lot.

"We were talking in the dressing room and none of the lads could ever remember being part of a side spanked like that at home and still receive that reaction. That gives us a lot of confidence for the last six games." n Southampton boss George Burley has revealed that Leon Best is close to signing a new deal at St Mary's.

The 20-year-old striker, who scored his first senior Saints goal in the 6-0 victory at Molineux on Saturday, is out of contract at the end of the season.

But Burley is confident the youngster will commit his future to the Coca-Cola Championship play-off hopefuls in the summer.

He said: "We've been talking to Leon for the last couple of months and we're not a million miles away from agreeing a deal."

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