Davis was at the King Power Stadium on Thursday, watching a Foxes side fight for every ball, and now he wants his players to find a balance between showing their technical quality and working harder than their opposition. The old gold showed that required spirit against Nottingham Forest last weekend and Davis wants that same approach as Wolves face four of their next five fixtures on home soil at Molineux.
On taking the role on a medium-term basis
“It’s a good feeling to know there’s longevity in it. We’ve previously been working day to day, game to game, so it’s nice now to be able to look forward and plan a bit more, get a settled group and implement some of the changes we’d like to make.
“I had a good chat with Jeff about how the future looks. I know results are important to any football club, ultimately before the World Cup we want to try and get as many points as possible, so the chat was around that. Now, it’s about me leading the group, leading the team and tyring to be really positive, which I have been.”
On being up for the Leicester challenge
“Like the Forest game, we realise the importance of Sunday. The context of where both clubs are. The focus is on Leicester. I went to watch them last night and they were worth their win. They were very good, so we know the task ahead, but we’re positive as well and think we can get some points.
“I saw a team which was willing to roll its sleeves up and fight for its manager and it’s important for us to do the same. They played for him, they worked for him, and they showed quality. That’s what I want from this group, I want us to be exactly the same, to outfight the opposition, I want that attitude and workmanlike approach to our game.
“I know we have the technical quality, but it’s time to fight, it’s time to work, it’s time to show the other qualities that we need. I think at the moment, the need is to work harder than the opposition and we are certainly trying to do that now.”
On bringing fight out of the players
“I want a group that’s committed and shows its talent, and can express that, because I think there’s more to come from the group. On the flip side, we’ve got to start fighting more, we’ve got to do the bits that are really important as individuals to the group, your interceptions, your tackles, your second balls, chasing back, working harder than your opponent, all those things are so important to add to the technical quality we’ve got as well.
“The players have it in them, in their personalities, it’s not something I have to demand from them. It’s there, we just have to bring it out. It’s mine and James’ job to try and bring the best out of them in that context, rather than just the talent they’ve got. They’ve shown it, and are showing it now, and just have to show more of it. We’ve got to show our teeth.”
On Adama’s new lease of life
“I’m a huge fan of his anyway, what he brings to the group, what he brings to the team, the problems he gives to the opposition. He feels that love, that affection that we’ve given him, and he’s a big focal point for how we’re playing at the minute. He knows he’s important to the team, knows his role in the team, and he’s excelling because of that.
“He’s coming back from an injury. We’d have liked to have used him more than we have done, but we’ve had to restrict his minutes to get him to a stage where he can play 90. Hopefully at the weekend he’ll be in a better position. We were cautious because we felt if we pushed him any longer, he would have broke down and we wouldn’t have him for three or four months.
“It’s something you have to look at, you have to make sure players are here for the longevity and not just the short term. He’s important to the team at the moment.”
The Hugo Bueno cross 💫
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 20, 2022
The @AdamaTrd37 header 🎯
A pitchside angle of Adama’s opener at Palace. pic.twitter.com/f9E2tnCjaj
On embracing the challenge at home
“I can only talk about the one game at home. We dominated the game against a team around us and we’ve got to do that against the better teams. We’ve got to believe we can do that against the better teams, because we’ve got some tough games to come.”
