The Spaniard has averaged ten dribbles per game against Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, providing a huge threat down the Wolves left during two positive team displays. As Lage and Traore prepare to face Manchester United on Sunday, the head coach was in positive spirit, hoping his team can continue their attacking performances and, crucially, turn chances into goals.
On Traore’s impact so far
“It’s two situations. It’s not about just the finishing, all of us talk about the finishing, but first he’s creating a lot of shots, a lot of chances, he is helping us in the defending and pressing, and, don’t forget the fouls the opponents do against him.
“I heard the story about the gel he puts on his arms, and now I can see every day because the player suffers a lot of fouls, it’s very important, because we want top players on the pitch and the Premier League is about this, top players competing with each other, sometimes we need also to protect top players and Adama is a top player.”
On continuing to improve the player
“About the finishing, we continue to work, the way we work, to improve is his mentality. The first step is don’t think too much about the future, just think about the next game and step by step.
“I have a good example, in my career, I never think where I’ll be in five or ten years, what I know is five years ago I was here [in the UK], I started as an assistant, and now I’m here as a manager of a big club. You never know where you’re going to go, in my opinion you just need to keep working and be ready for the chances you have in your life.”
Ready to go again. 👊 pic.twitter.com/2kHksqPbnb
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 27, 2021
On building on the positive performances
“From my point of view, the most important thing is to play like we played before, and for the other teams to feel we are a tough opponent to play against. In the Premier League, every game is a hard game to play, so the games will come, and you need to be ready to play against these strong teams.
“After the two games, we are confident about the process because they are playing the way I want to play and well against two strong teams. We need to play like this and score the chances we have to win points because, in the end, it’s important to win points for us.
“In football, anything can happen, but sometimes you have one chance and score, you can win one game, but I believe if you have more chances, you can score more goals. So, I believe in that. I said to the guys, ‘We are an offensive team, we want to create a lot of chances and, if possible, score goals’ – that’s what we’re working for.”
On settling into Wolverhampton
“It’s a good place to be. For the last six or seven weeks I spent my time in the training ground, so I don’t know too much about the city, but the most important thing is here – the environment here is very, very good. We can feel it, the word of the pack, the word of unity in all the staff and all the players. Two months have been very good for me.”
On working with his brother
“We stayed together our first 20 years of life, but then he moved to study in a different city far away and we stayed a long time without each other, but after I started in football, he started too in football, and every time we had a chance, he was in Dubai, I was in Portugal, I was in UK, he was in Portugal, every time sharing our thoughts and experience.
“Then, after Benfica, I thought to myself, I need one more guy next to me and why not him because we have the same pathway, so it’s good. It’s more than a brother, it’s more lie my right arm, I was happy with my staff before, but with him he's one more guy to help me.
“We have the same pathway. I worked with Carlos, then after I moved on Carlos invited him to work with him. I spent eight years at Benfica, he spent 14 years at Benfica, so we have the same pathway, the same influence, the same things, sometimes what I’m thinking he’s also thinking.”
