The midfielder insists the players should be proud of their performance in north London, as they fell to a Harry Kane header in the second-half of a game which Wolves – who handed first starts to Neves’ Portugal teammates Matheus Nunes and Goncalo Guedes – dominated much of, but as was the case in the previous matches of the 2022/23 campaign, a lack of clinical edge in the final third saw them go home empty handed.
On defeat on the road
“It’s very frustrating for us because once again I thought we did a great game, mainly the first-half. We controlled all the 45 minutes against a big team.
“I felt we deserved more. We had more ball, we had more shots on goal, we had more chances, and at a stadium like this it’s not easy to come here and do what we did today, so we need to be proud of what we did on the pitch, but what matters in the send in the result, and we didn’t get the result we wanted.
“We know we need to improve in some aspects of the game because we cannot keep saying that we are playing well but we don’t get any points from the matches. Something needs to change and it’s about us to work on that and try to get the three points for the next game.”
On finishing chances
“We need to get better at some aspects of our game and one of them is finishing. We know with our quality we can create a lot of chances, but we also need to finish them to get the results we want.
“We need to work on that, but it’s all about us to work and improve on that. We’re doing a lot of things really well, as you saw today, a fantastic game from us and a lot of difficulties for Tottenham, mainly in the first-half, and then the second-half, they’re playing at home and trying to press us a little bit more, but even in the second-half, we had our chances, and we concede in a set-play.
“That’s why I say to work on those small aspects, those small details and I’m sure we’ll do well in the future, start getting some wins and give some wins to the fans.”
On Spurs’ second-half fightback
“That’s Tottenham. We cannot play like we did in the first-half for the whole 90 minutes. We knew they would come stronger in the second-half because they were not touching the ball as much in the first-half, so we knew they would come strong and press a lot more. But it’s normal, it’s football, it’s the Premier League.
“They were playing at home and they needed to start playing better and we knew that. But even in the second-half, I think we still had the better chances to score. I just remember the Kane header which hit the crossbar and the goal.
“Apart from that it was counter attacks when they were trying to get to our goal, but in terms of playing, I think we did very well and we controlled the game. Even when Tottenham had more ball, we were still controlling and we just need to improve on some small details to start winning games.”
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— Wolves (@Wolves) August 20, 2022
On Nunes and Guedes’ impact
“What you saw today. A lot of quality to our squad. They are really good players, really objective players, they want to take the ball in front, so they will help us a lot. They started today and I’m really happy for them and their debut, but, unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but I’m happy for them and I’m sure they will help us in the future.”
On one point from nine
“Last season we had zero from the first three, so if you compare it to last season… But, of course, we are not getting the results we want, but I believe that if we keep playing like this and if we improve on the small details, I think we will do a great season.
“That’s our main target now and our main goal, and we’ll keep working on that. If we keep playing like this, it’s only a matter of time before we start to score goals. It’s a matter of working, a matter of improving and just keep doing what we’re doing.”
