Former Wolves man Adlene Guedioura makes a move into coaching

But if two was company in that respect, he is certainly hoping three’s not a crowd in terms of the congested Premier League relegation battle which will play out to a dramatic conclusion over the coming weeks.

Because the affable former midfielder has played for Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

And he’d love nothing more than for each and every one of them to stay up.

“I’m not sure I have seen it like this before with maybe nine teams all so close and fighting to stay up,” says Guedioura.

“That is the Premier League now – for those teams it is becoming very competitive and difficult to stay up, so it is important to get points at this moment of the season.

“Of course, I hope for all three of the clubs that I played for to stay up – that would be a nice way for it to finish, but it is certainly going to be very interesting.”

Guedioura, currently based in Qatar, is now a pundit on the beIN Sports network and regularly covers Premier League games, including Saturday’s extremely feisty draw between Wolves and Forest.

He also works as an assistant coach with the Al Wakrah team, whose base was used by the England squad during the recent World Cup.

Ultimately there is a long-term ambition to return to the world of high-level football in some capacity, and, when you consider the sporting roots into which Guedioura arrived, that should come as little surprise.

His father Nacer was an international footballer with Algeria, and his mother represented the country at basketball.

“I wouldn’t say I always wanted to play football – I would say it was meant to be,” says Guedioura.

“And that was from the moment I was born, straightaway, before I was even growing up!”

Having emerged through the lower divisions in France after being born in La Roche-Sur-Yon, Guedioura then moved to Kortrijk in Belgium, and then Charleroi, whom he would later play against for Wolves in a pre-season friendly.

That came several months after actually making the move to Molineux, in the January transfer window of 2010, midway through the first season back in the Premier League under Mick McCarthy.

“I was at a good club in the first division in Belgium but getting to move to Wolves was a big one and a big ambition,” Guedioura explains.

“For me, I always thought that to be a real professional footballer you had to play in the big leagues and the Premier League is the best one.

“I found it quite easy to settle in, even if my English wasn’t the best at that time.

“Mick introduced me well and the players were very welcoming which all really helped me.

“I was hungry to succeed, and wanted to show that I could do well at that level.”

Initially a loan, it was something of a whirlwind move as, barely 48 hours after the speculation became reality and Guedioura travelled over from Belgium, he was coming off the bench in the latter stages of a goalless draw with a Liverpool team featuring one of his heroes, Steven Gerrard.

His next Molineux appearance, a couple of weeks later, was his first Wolves start, the 1-0 win against Tottenham which included a winning goal from David Jones at the end of an 18-pass move.

It was a crucial three points during a crucial period – Wolves were fourth from bottom when Guedioura arrived – but a pivotal week in March when seven points were secured from away games against Burnley, Aston Villa and West Ham were enough to propel them within sight of safety.

With survival ultimately secured with two games to spare, the final fixture of the season brought a carnival atmosphere and Guedioura’s first Wolves goal – clinically dispatched with his left foot - proved the winner against Sunderland at Molineux.

“It was a good time in those first few months,” he explains.

“I was so happy to join and I felt fresh to the situation and wanted to bring some positive vibes and I think that showed in the way I played.

“That last day of the season was really enjoyable.

“We had already survived, and scoring the winner made it perfect and, for all of us, meant we headed into the summer on a good note.

“And for me, very soon after, I won my first cap with the Algeria national team, so it was all going very well.”

Football being football, sadly it never seems to go well forever.

Guedioura came on as a substitute in all three of Algeria’s fixtures at the 2010 World Cup, including against England, and was doing similar for Wolves in the early stages of the following season until sustaining a broken leg in the closing stages of a game against Aston Villa.

Barely nine months after getting his big break, this was, literally, an even bigger and more serious one, and one of those tests of character that so many footballers have to confront during their careers.

“That was a big blow and a real shame,” Guedioura admits.

“I really felt that I was growing into the club and growing into the Premier League.

“I was 25 at the time and thought I was going to improve a lot and get better and better but that injury stopped my progression.

“It was the first time I had picked up a bad injury, but it was important to stay strong and go back to the process.

“In football, you can quickly go from a very high high to a very low low, but my family came to support me and I looked at it as a chance to think again about my career and become hungry again to play football.

“I was also fortunate in getting the chance to go to Qatar for part of my rehabilitation, in the warmer weather.

“In England, there was a lot of snow that Winter which made it difficult for me to get about as I was recovering, and first going to Paris, and then Qatar, really helped me refresh as I was doing the work.

“I think that freshness helped me when I came back, and I was really happy that I was able to play a part in the final games of the season.”

Those final games were to include Guedioura’s finest hour in a Wolves shirt.

With three crunch battles remaining, Wolves were second from bottom, as they welcomed West Bromwich Albion for a nerve-jangling Sunday showdown in a Black Country derby.

Defeat was unthinkable, and fortunately that’s how it proved, as a Steven Fletcher brace – and Guedioura goal and assist – propelled Wolves to a 3-1 win which still, almost 12 years on, is the most recent over their fierce local rivals.

“We were in the bottom three before kick-off and hadn’t won for a good few games and people were thinking it was going to be difficult for us to stay up,” Guedioura recalls.

“But that game, a massive derby game, was to prove the turning point.

“And obviously for me personally, getting a goal and an assist, it was a huge highlight of my time at Wolves.”

Victory away at Sunderland followed, before that epic final day where defeat at home to Blackburn ultimately didn’t matter as Wolves secured another season in the Premier League.

But for Guedioura, the lack of a regular spot in the first team was starting to become a frustration.

He was still very much involved, but mainly coming off the bench, and ultimately, 22 of his tally of 39 Wolves appearances would come as a substitute.

He spoke to boss McCarthy about his situation – there were no hard feelings on either side – and made the move to Forest on loan two years after he had arrived in England and just two weeks before the Wolves manager was relieved of his duties.

“I just needed to play,” Guedioura insists.

“It was nothing to do with money, or not being happy at Wolves, but I was at an age where to continue to develop I needed to be starting more games and that was the chat I had with Mick at the time.”

And that was where Forest came in.

Guedioura joined on loan with his high energy game quickly endearing him to the Forest faithful, helped by a cracking goal in a remarkable 7-3 away win at Leeds which would prove the club’s goal of the season.

That followed his equally sumptuous Carling Cup effort for Wolves against Millwall earlier in the campaign which clinched the same accolade at Molineux – a double goal of the season success!

He would also return to score a trademark long-range winner for Forest nine months after his departure, declining to celebrate a goal which also drew applause from many of the Wolves fans inside Molineux.

Guedioura enjoyed his time at the City Ground - across two separate spells he made 100 appearances - whilst he picked up other precious Premier League experience with Palace, Watford and Middlesbrough, then rounding off his English career with Sheffield United and Burton Albion.

Having already had one spell in Qatar with Al-Gharafa, more recently Guedioura has represented both Al-Duhail and Al-Wakrah, but stepped away from playing a couple of months ago to focus purely on coaching.

There is, rightly so, much pride for the 37-year-old when he looks back on his career, and that’s not just at club and Premier League level, but particularly in representing Algeria, the country of his Dad’s birth, for whom he won 63 caps.

The special memories are not limited to featuring in the World Cup of 2010 but also in several African Cup of Nations competitions, including, memorably, a winning one, in 2019, in which Guedioura was named in the Team of the Tournament.

“To play for your country is something very special and with Algeria, we are a very proud people,” he explains.

“My Dad had played for the national team which made it even more special for me.

“Reaching the World Cup Finals was already huge but then to win the AFCON was incredible and something I will never ever forget.”

There is another thing Guedioura will never forget from his time at Wolves – and that is how, as a devout Muslim, he was looked after during Ramadan.

The Holy Month of fasting, which is again taking place at the present time, carries many challenges for footballers aiming to operate at the peak of physical performance, but Guedioura, despite initial fears, found a very understanding set-up at Molineux over a decade ago.

“We have seen Ramadan mentioned a lot more now but there are still problems as we saw recently when it was suggested that members of the French national team were being asked to postpone their fasting,” Guedioura explains.

“Attitudes have mostly changed now, which is good, but in the past, I remember managers saying that if you were fasting then you couldn’t play.

“I remember the first time I was fasting at Wolves, I was a bit worried and didn’t say anything about it.

“The nutritionist (James Collins) had spotted it and came up to me and asked why I wasn’t eating and I told him I was a Muslim and that I normally ate Halal but I was fasting.

“He asked why I hadn’t said anything and I said I was a bit shy and worried but, from that moment, he told me not to be concerned and that they could adapt and produce a nutrition plan for me.

“He even said we could speak to the manager if I was struggling with training or any tiredness and just made me feel far more comfortable and easier to tell people I was observing Ramadan.

“I often felt stronger during Ramadan because while it wasn’t necessarily easy to play football, I always wanted to make sure there were no excuses, and I remember having some of my best games during Ramadan as a result.”

Those happy memories extend more to Guedioura’s time at Wolves as a whole, even though he perhaps didn’t play as much as he would have liked, and was also sidelined with that first serious injury of his career.

“Wolves gave me my chance in the Premier League, and for that I will always be very grateful,” he explains.

“I made some good friends and still have a lot of bonds with some of the people there – for me the memories are only good.”

Guedioura also has particular memories of the medical team during his time and, having just missed a reunion with Steve Kemp within the England set-up when taking on his recent employment, did however manage to meet up with Phil Hayward, who was out working with tennis star Andy Murray at a tournament in Qatar.

It wasn’t just a meet-up either, as there was the chance to enjoy a spot of the racket sport of ‘padel’. A game of doubles even including the legend Murray himself. “A great experience,” Guedioura enthused.

Now, though, it is time to look ahead.

Alongside his current coaching role and also working with beIN Sports, Guedioura is studying not just for his coaching badges but also a Masters in Sports Directorship.

The pull of one day returning to football is a very powerful one.

“I would love to stay involved in football in the long term if I can,” he explains.

“Football is my passion, it is something that I know and something that I love.

“Being a footballer was a privilege and was always something special, and all the years I spent at different clubs, especially in England, were totally different experiences and helped me learn a lot.

“I was always looking at how clubs can improve and do better, and I always felt it was something I would love to be involved in during the future – that is my focus and what I am working towards.”

A likeable personality whose cheery and welcoming demeanour masks a fierce and relentless desire to succeed, Guedioura’s approach and attitude will give him every chance of succeeding with whatever footballing role he turns his attention to.

And so, just as he hopes the Premier League won’t see the last of Wolves, Forest and Palace this season, maybe English football hasn’t yet seen the last of him either.