MIDFIELDER Paul Cook is battling to be fit to face his former club.

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Dave Jones has vowed to bring six first team players to the Interlink Express Stadium for a friendly with Accrington Stanley tomorrow (kick-off 3pm).

And Reds' new player coach Cook hopes he has recovered from an ankle ligament problem in time to make an appearance against the Coca Cola Championship side.

"I'm hoping to be fit to play some kind of part," said Cook, who spent almost five years at Molineux from November 1989.

"It's always nice to play against your old teams, so I've got my fingers crossed."

But if the 37-year-old fails to pass a fitness test, he'll be happy to continue his role as coach from the sidelines.

Former Burnley and Tranmere Rovers star Cook has been a key figure in Stanley's pre-season campaign, particularly during training while manager John Coleman completed his first year as a primary school teach.

Now he is working alongside the Reds boss and his assistant Jimmy Bell to get the players in peak condition for the start of a new Nationwide Conference campaign, taking part in fitness programmes that are even new to him, despite a career that spans two decades.

"Pre-season has been different for me because we're doing things that have only come in during the last few years, like aerobics," he said.

"But at the end of the day there's no easy way to get fit, it's just through hard work.

"But variety's important and we're lucky that we have such good facilities.

"I still think, though that we could have a massive field to just run around in and still get fit.

"But everything we've done is to keep the players' minds active so that it doesn't become a chore.

"Hard work and desire will get us a long way."

Meanwhile, Stanley chairman Eric Whalley is looking forward to welcoming a strong Wolves side and boss Jones to Accrington tomorrow.

Wolves, who were relegated from the Premiership last season, entertain Manchester City tonight. But Jones has told Stanley that the senior players who don't play in that game are expected to feature tomorrow.

"It should be a good game because most of them will be players who were involved in the Premier League last season," Whalley said.

"We played well in the last game against Crewe and there are one or two positives to come out of pre-season."

One Stanley player who is no stranger to friendlies with Wolves is new signing Steve Jagielka.

The former Shrewsbury midfielder, who expects to have recovered from a hamstring strain in time to play tomorrow, said: "I've played against Wolves a couple of times in pre-season, with Shrewsbury just being down the road.

"They're decent games to play in and hopefully there should be a decent crowd there."