Speaking as a pundit on BBC’s Match of the Day 2 show on Sunday evening, Coady discussed the transition in playing styles, with Lage wanting his wide men to work more inside, which worked to great effect for Saturday’s winner. After three consecutive wins at Molineux, those ideas are growing each game, and captain Coady was full of positivity when speaking to Mark Chapman and Jermaine Jenas in the Match of the Day studio.
On a big win against West Ham
“It was a huge win. We spoke about it all week because West Ham are a top team, with a certain way of playing, certain players in certain positions who win games for them. It was important we stuck to our way of playing, stuck to our beliefs, and obviously came away with a good result.
“It was something we worked on all week, in terms of looking at West Ham and how they set up, with bodies in the middle of the pitch, and good players in the middle of the pitch. The way the manager wants to play, we want to move the ball quick, one, two, three touches, as quick as we possibly can.
“You look at Raul’s movement, actually going in, leaving the defenders in there, and taking a step back – it’s a great goal from Raul and he deserves it.”
On the front three adapting
“The manager’s been brilliant since he came in. He’s got new ideas, new ways of playing, but we’re kind of sticking to what we know in terms of the system. I think a lot of people think Wolves are playing three at the back so it’s exactly the same, but it’s totally different, we’ve all had to change the way we do things and the way we want to play.
“The boys up top have been brilliant because we’re trying to play a bit more inside now, and we’re trying to move the ball a little bit quicker, have more possession of the ball, and the gaffer’s been brilliant with it every day in training.”
On the transition in playing style
“It’s not been easy at all because we’re trying to be more aggressive. I don’t think it’s ever easy when you’re making a change in football because you know for one you’ve got to be winning games and for two it’s the Premier League, it’s best league in the world, against the best teams and the best players."
On Lage’s working in training
“It’s full credit to him and how he’s coached us since he came in. He’s a fantastic coach, who does absolutely everything, he has attention to detail every time. We have a lot of meetings now where we go through clips, and we watch clips on other teams. It’s brilliant the analysis we go into.
“It’s full credit to him and how he’s wanted to do it, but he’s stuck to the same formation, the same way of doing things, but brought in new ways of playing and trying to find a bit more of an inside game, while still keeping the width at the same time.”
Are we the type of admins to use a @Raul_Jimenez9 winner to help promote his new documentary...?
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 20, 2021
Yes. Yes we are.
Code Red: On @BBCiPlayer now! pic.twitter.com/Ha2tVkgbD9
On Jimenez and his documentary
“The most important thing was his health, making sure he was alright. At the time, all we were worried about was if he was alive, that’s how serious it was. It was horrific, it was the most horrendous thing I’ve ever been involved in in my life.
“We won the game 2-1 and still to this day I can’t remember the game because all we cared about was him. We came in at half-time and after the game and asked if Raul was OK and were asking the doctors every single day.
“It goes to show the character and bravery of the man, because he’s an incredible person. There’s a clip on the documentary where we all jump for the ball and Raul was in the front zone, and I was behind him, and we all kind of jump for the same ball with our heads, your arms are down, it’s surprising how it doesn’t happen more. You just don’t want to happen to anyone, it’s horrendous, to see my friend more importantly having it.”
