Speaking after his side’s 3-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, Davis proudly credited his players’ resilience and determination which saw them progress into the semi-final in front of a vocal Molineux crowd on Saturday.
His group of players will have to show the same battling spirit as they take on their toughest test yet - an away day to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the last four, which presents a chance for Wolves’ youngsters to write their names in club history.
On the players deserving credit
“I’m just pleased that they’re heading in the right direction with their development. It’s really about them. It’s about their journey, and all I see this FA Youth Cup as is an extension of what they do every day. It’s an opportunity to play against different teams with a bit of pressure and they’re growing, they’re learning.
“We’ve got the advantage that a lot of them play under-23s [matches] regularly, I think that exposure has stood them in really good stead in terms of what they’re doing now out on the pitch here, so they’re heading in the right direction from a development point of view. That’s what I’m happy with.
“How far we go [in this competition] is irrelevant, it’s about which next player is going to play in our first team or which next player is going to have a career in the football league. That sort of conveyor belt means more to me than any result.
“I made that plain in the pre-match tour, that’s what I was talking about, growing. I put a quote from Joao [Moutinho] up about the club growing, the players growing each season and I think for a young player that’s a great quote and something which hopefully will follow on through not just this season but in the future.”
On his team’s defensive efforts
“It was brilliant. I thought we controlled the game for large periods, so that was pleasing because you never know what the opposition are going to throw at you when you’re leading.
“We were expecting a bit of a barrage second-half, but I thought we dealt with that really well. I thought the back five were outstanding, so really pleased, really pleased for the lads.”
On the response to conceding
“Well, they did it at [Crystal] Palace. They’ve shown that they can come back, they’re quite a resilient group, they don’t know when they’re beaten and that’s stood them in good stead today.
“They didn’t panic which is important. Sometimes when you get that equaliser the other team can panic but they didn’t, they kept playing and they have huge belief in the fact they can get that second and then obviously that third goal was really important to us.”
On Fraser’s pressing efforts
“I think a lot of [Fraser’s pressing] is within. I think that’s the determination, perseverance to get the better of the opposition, drive towards the goal.
“We do a little bit of work on which areas to run into and stuff like that but at the end of the day it comes down to the individual and how much he wants to get the better of his opponent.
“I think in this team, the front five all do it - the front three and the two wing backs all have the same sort of way of approaching the goal. They go fast, they go towards the goal, and they want to cause problems and generally that’s what they do.”
𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗦! 💛#FAYouthCup semi-finalists.
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) February 26, 2022
🐺🏆 pic.twitter.com/01fOnKtc5P
On Fraser adding goals to his game
“He pops up in good places. He did a lot of running around without being in the right place at the right time, but now he’s starting to get into the right place at the right time.
“I thought he anticipated that moment [the mistake that directly led to his second goal] in the game really well. He might not have seen that six or twelve months ago, so for him he’s learning, he’s getting better.
“He’s seeing what might happen ahead, almost pre-empting what the next thing is in the game.
“With the goal, you could see him on his front foot waiting and waiting, then he saw [the opportunity] and I thought he slotted it away really well, it was a difficult angle, but I think he took it really well.”
On a trip to Old Trafford coming up
“I didn’t mention it if I’m honest. I did talk about it pre-match or this week, we’ve not mentioned [Manchester] United. They all knew so it didn’t need to come from me.
“That sort of drive and determination, and that carrot that was hanging there came from them and they drove that themselves, the group drove that. I don’t take any credit for that.”
Words by Ollie Spencer
