The England man doubled Wolves’ advantage after Raul Jimenez netted from the penalty spot in the first-half, and although James Ward-Prowse’s rocket led to a nervy last few minutes, Adama Traore notched his first of the season in added time, and Coady admits he was happier for the winger opening his account for the year, more than he was for his own milestone goal.
On scoring his first Molineux league goal
“It’s not a good enough stat that, is it, really?! I enjoyed that more than anything because I’ve waited to score at this ground in the Premier League for such a long time.
“But it’s incredible. An incredible moment and incredible feeling. To score in front of the South Bank is always amazing, but I’ve waited a long, long time for that.
“I was expecting it to be rules out to be honest, and then Raul almost took it off me when he blocked it on the line, but it was an amazing feeling.
“More than that, it was a fantastic result for us, and we said it was a big night for us and a night we wanted to go and try and impress, try and perform, and we knew how much of a battle it was going to be, so it’s a magnificent result for us.”
What it means to score your first league goal at Molineux.
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 15, 2022
💛 pic.twitter.com/3eVzy7AchC
On taking the three points
“It was a battle, but it’s always a really tough game. We’ve played Southampton a lot of times in the last few years, and they play in different ways, they’re full throttle and they chase you.
“But it was important we were calm on the ball and we used our brains a little bit. We backed off and tried to play over the top, especially when Adama came on. There were different aspects with how we wanted to play and it probably wasn’t the most pretty at times, but it was important that we were aggressive, we did that, and we scored three goals.
“We want to make the supporters happy, we want to entertain them and we want them to dream. We’ve said in the many years that have gone by how we want people to dream when supporting this football club.
“That’s what football is all about, but we’ve got to keep on trying to perform, keep on trying to get better and we’ll see where that takes us.”
On the penalty decision
“I thought it was a penalty straight away. I’m really far back, but when you get that inkling and a bit of a feeling, I thought straight away that it was a penalty. The referee didn’t give it, but I was adamant it was a penalty.
“When they were checking it on VAR, and the longer it was taking, we knew they were checking for something, but when we watched it on the screen ourselves, I thought it was, although some would probably tell you it wasn’t. But it doesn’t matter, because it was a brilliant finish from Raul.”
👶🇲🇽 @Raul_Jimenez9 pic.twitter.com/aHQJYme2GD
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 15, 2022
On Jose Sa’s game-winning saves
“Incredible. Incredible goalkeeper, an incredible character and an incredible person. What he brings to our dressing room and what he’s brought to us since he came here is absolutely fantastic.
“We’ve seen today, the presence he gives us, the way he steps off his line, it means you can play a bit higher, so he’s an absolute fantastic keeper and it’s a pleasure to have him here.”
On Toti Gomes’ debut
“Fantastic. It was such a tough game for him to come in to. We’ve obviously lost Saiss, and he’s come in, he’s a left-footer, he’s been out on loan all season, but we’ve seen him training and he’s been quality.
“We’ve seen how strong he is on his one-v-one battles, but even on the ball, he’s so calm and I can’t explain how hard a game this was to come into.
“They’re always in your face, Southampton, and you know they’re going to press you, and I thought he did ever so well, so I’m massively made up for him as I thought he was brilliant.”
A solid debut!
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 15, 2022
Well done, Toti 👏 pic.twitter.com/MkTQxmB2pW
On Maximilian Kilman’s England call-up chances
“Max is a fantastic footballer and he’s done ever so well this year. He’s been incredible. He’s one of my best mates and I’d always push for that, if I’m being honest with you.
“If he keeps on performing well, and that’s what he’s done all season, and obviously we’ll see what happens then when it comes to it.”
On Adama Traore’s glove celebration
“I didn’t know he had them, to be fair. I didn’t know what he was doing as I hadn’t seen the gloves before so he must have put them on behind our backs, so I’ll have to ask him!
“I was happier for him than I was for myself. He deserves everything he gets. He deserves that goal because we can’t explain how hard he works in training because he’s one of the most hardest working players and people I’ve ever met in my life.
“I don’t think there’s any footballer like him in the world. His power, his aggression, the way he runs, how quick he is, I don’t think there’s anyone like him, and it’s an absolute pleasure to have him here because when he plays like he did today, he’s unplayable.
“What he does in training is absolutely fantastic and he deserves that, but we all deserve a good result tonight, and we’ll move on now to Brentford.”
