Wolves went the month unbeaten, as part of their current run of ten games without defeat in the top-flight, earning Nuno a nomination for Manager of the Month, Raul Jimenez is up for Player of the Month, while Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho will battle it out in the Goal of the Month category.
But as the head coach aims to match an unbeaten Wolves run which stretches back to 1962 when the team was under the leadership of the legendary manager Stan Cullis, he believes that although the accolades are given out to individuals, it is all down to the club’s team ethic.
On four award nominations
“It shows the commitment of the team. It’s an individual prize, but it’s a reflection of the work of the team, so every time we have a nomination, every time we achieve something, it’s for us. It’s a prize for everybody involved in the club.
“Everybody is involved, everybody’s trying to help the idea.”
On a first day off in three weeks
“I hope they enjoyed it! It was necessary, it was a need and a well-deserved day off that I scheduled, but I think yesterday was good.
“It was a need more than a reward. It was a need because we know that it’s been a very tight schedule because we play and we have to recover, and he players need also quality time with their families.
“It’s a day to rest, it’s a day to recover, to enjoy their time with family – stay, rest, eat well and join us again today to prepare for Sunday.”
On ten-match unbeaten run in the league
“We are proud. We are doing things well, but we have to keep going, that’s our philosophy, what we did before can only serve us as motivation to keep on going. But we’re improving, we’re playing well and we’re competing – it’s more important to compete well.
“We started the competitions very early, and there are numerous factors, tough opponents that we had, tough games, a lot of emotional feelings, and the responsibility of the [Europa League] play-off, these things, but we did well.
“I think we competed in all the games like we want to keep on improving, but the most difficult is to sustain the performance and we’ve been able to do that – sustaining our performance game after game.
“I’m very happy with that, but it doesn’t mean anything, we have to keep on going on and Sunday is going to be a very tough challenge.
“We have to compete, to play, now is the time to prepare ourselves, we still have the training session of tomorrow, but Brighton is a very good team, get good results, and we know it’s going to be very tough and very demanding.”
On Brighton’s win over Arsenal
“We saw the game and we’re going to see it again today and tomorrow, trying to get not only the game against Arsenal, but all the details we can give the players on Brighton.
“It’s a very good team, a good manager, and good players who play well. So, we have to analyse and figure out the best way to compete, knowing that it’s going to be challenging for us. They have their strengths, but they have weaknesses.”
On Boly and Gibbs-White’s injury recovery
“[Boly] is here; every day. He’s improving, he’s already walking with only one thing to support him. He’s a big guy and we miss him, we miss him a lot.
“He’s a very important player for us, but we have to wait for the normal process of healing the bone and all these things, we go careful on him, but of course we miss him.
“He doesn’t get miserable, he’s here every day, and we are such a small squad that we live as much time as we can together.
“[Gibbs-White] is closer. It’s a day-by-day process. It’s a painful situation that he has, first we have to take care of his pain, but he’s improving and hopefully he can join us soon.”
On January transfers
“It’s not about being busy, it’s about anticipating what you need, and the work is already on the move, the decisions will come when they have to come, but it’s clear that we have to bring in players.”
