A former graduate of the academy at Molineux, Lescott spent seven years at Wolves and is eagerly anticipating the chance to return to the club where he made his professional debut back in 2000.
“They gave me the opportunity to play first team football at a such an early age thanks to Colin Lee, who’s the manager there, and then I was groomed by a coach called Terry Connor. I would say I owe a lot to him,” Lescott told Absolute Radio.
“It will be a great occasion. Unfortunately I didn’t get to go there last year, but I'm looking forward to it."
The defender was an integral part of Wolves’ promotion to the Premier League in 2003 but was dealt a cruel blow when a knee injury ruled him out for the entire season. Wolves ended up being relegated and Lescott recalls it was a tough time for him.
“It was horrible. At the time it wasn’t too bad because I’d never been injured so I just assumed I wasn’t going to be out that long. I hadn’t played in the Premier League before so I didn’t know what I was missing out on, but obviously now looking back, it was hard to take.”
Lescott has started five league games for Manchester City this season, who find themselves level on points with Arsenal and Manchester United, with all three sides trailing Chelsea by five points.
“We want to finish as high as we can do, and if that means other teams don’t do as well as they can and we win the league, then so be it. We want to win as much as we can and see where we finish.”
Lescott’s opportunities at City have been somewhat limited given his injuries and the constant competition for places. With the side's strength and depth, both in the squad and in the bank, the versatile defender concedes that things can get pretty stressful.
“You’re never at ease, you can never relax and be content with the way you perform because you know if you don’t perform to the highest level then someone’s going to come in and take your place.”
Roberto Mancini's men go into the match with Wolves without their talismanic captain Carlos Tevez, who has been allowed to travel to Argentina after picking up a thigh injury.
Tevez’s future has been a major talking point following reports that the striker is disillusioned with life away from home, with Mancini reiterating that City will not be losing the Argentine striker any time soon.
Lescott shares this view and feels Tevez, who has contributed seven goals in the league this term, is a role model for the side.
“Carlos was probably given the captaincy because of his performances and his leadership on the field. It’s the way he goes about his game, it inspires the rest of the team to do the same,” he said.
Dedryck Boyata is suspended following his red-card against Arsenal and left-back Aleksandar Kolarov is still sidelined with an ankle injury. City welcome back Kolo Toure, who will be competing with Lescott for a spot in the centre of defence alongside Vincent Kompany.
Whether he gets his chance to start or not, it will no doubt be a nostalgic trip back to Wolverhampton for Lescott, not that he is letting his emotions get in the way.
“This is the only occasion I won’t be rooting for them to win."
By Vithushan Ehantharajah
Listen to Wolves vs Man City this Saturday October 30 only on Absolute Radio extra - on DAB Digital Radio, 1215AM and online from 1.30pm BST. Tune in to listen to the full Lescott interview. For more go to www.absoluteradio.co.uk
