Diogo Jota netted with seconds left on the clock to secure his side a point after a deflected Joel Ward’s shot had put the home side ahead at Selhurst Park. After Wolves were able to rescue a point, the head coach spoke about the heart his players showed, especially after going down to 10-men following Romain Saiss’ sending off mid-way through the second-half.
On the character showed by his players
“It shows a lot about the character and determination of the team. To produce this kind of effort having played Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, scoring in the 95th minute, up and down, running like the boys did, showed a lot of character and determination. It’s fantastic.
“There are positives, there are negatives, good things, bad things. What we are living now is a challenge for all of us. We have to realise that what we did in the first-half, this is the way we should play.
“It’s been hard, tough for the boys, but they are ready for it and they want to embrace it, they want to compete.
“We build on the performance, and the first-half is what we should be producing.”
On snatching a point at Selhurst Park
“This is football. I’ve been on both sides and we as a team have been on both sides. We live to the end and we got a goal, so the character and the spirit was good.
“The first-half was very good, this is what I think after today – this is what we should look at; the first-half, how we did things, how we play, how we control and managed the game, how we produced so many chances and that it’s important to punish.
“This is the growing of the team, having the kind of performance that we did in the first-half. It’s not about that [the first win], it’s about what we have ahead of us. We’re going to play Thursday, Sunday, over and over again and we have to be ready for it.”
On overcoming mistakes
“When we speak about mistakes, it’s both sides. I’m not happy with that because I think we controlled the game, dominate the game, we had possession, we had chances, but we must realise that when we have it so well, we must punish the opponent.
“Of course, I was not happy with the beginning of the second-half because we spoke about what can happen, the reaction of Crystal Palace and – what can I say – it’s tough.
“There were some chances, we made some saves, everybody was organised, running up and down. It is about the heart and we had a lot of heart and a lot of character. But I think it’s more about the head at this moment.”
On Romain Saiss’ sending off
“The first yellow card, I’m not sure. The second one was very close to me, but the referee decided – he saw it and if he saw it clear, they have to decide.
“The red card broke us, it disorganised us – you can see how many chances Crystal Palace had after that. It didn’t galvanize us, it made us realise that from that moment on, it was all about the heart.”
