Substitutes Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nouri scored the goals to help Wolves secure a Carabao Cup victory over Gillingham, before the French youth international came off the bench once again to hit a last minute winner against Everton on Boxing Day.
And with Manchester United the latest side to head to the Black Country as Wolves bring their 2022 to a close on New Year’s Eve, the head coach has stressed the importance of having players who are ready to come on and make an impact late in games, while also speaking about the threat the Red Devils pose, while urging the old gold supporters to turn Molineux into one which is feared by the opposition.
On substitutes making an impact
“The players that start on the bench, they have to become key. They have to be ready, to be alert, as each one of them can help the team. Sometimes they’re not going to start in the line-up, and I know all players want to start in the line-up, but they have to know that sometimes they can be key when starting on the bench.
“We try to explain this to them, but it’s not easy because every player wants to start. You have one kind of player who sometimes they are better when they are on the bench and they are key in each squad and for each coach.
“This is very important and we try to explain this to them, so they know the situation of each one, and it’s very important that everyone is able to help the team always.”
On turning Molineux into a fortress
“It’s very important. To play at home and to be strong at home is going to be key in our future. We know that tomorrow we are going to have a lot of difficulties because we’re playing against a big team.
“But at the same way, we have to believe, we have to work very hard and try to take advantage of our strengths. We work with this illusion and to be strong at home is always something you want to be, for all the teams.”
On the threat of Man United
“For me, they are currently one of the best teams, not only in England, because they have improved a lot in these last months. I have seen their matches and I think they are a very complex team with the ball, without the ball, individually, collectively, so we have to be ready to beat them.
“We have the ambition and the vision to work on this big aim, which is to beat Manchester United.
“They have a lot of big players and now they are showing this. They are playing free and showing a very big quality, in the offensive phase they have good players, in the defensive phase they have good players, in the midfield too. I think Casemiro is very important for this team, but the most important thing is what we’re going to do ourselves.
A classic Molineux win against tomorrow's opponents.
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 30, 2022
⏪🔥 pic.twitter.com/7F79l0yNVF
On winning against United with Sevilla in 2020
“It’s different. Some players are the same, but I think it’s a different team, a different coach, a different moment, and I am going to be with a different team, so it’s always different, but it’s going to be a very difficult game, which is the same.
“Our aim is to overcome them and we know this is going to be very difficult, but in the same way we have ambition to overcome this team.”
On January transfer window plans
“We have to work in two directions; the most important direction is to fight in each match, work on the opponent and to fight for the three points. This is the most important thing, but after that, we also have to be looking for the options that can improve our squad in the positions that we think we need.
“The most important thing is trying to be able to fight for each three points, after, the club is responsible and they are working to improve the squad with other player.
“We are working so that good players are here in the future, but now, the most important thing is to believe in the players who are here because they are the ones who are going to help us to try to win tomorrow.”
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 29, 2022
On Pele’s legacy
“We know that he was very ill but he will be remembered for the kind of person he was in football. I have seen images of him playing, and I think he was one of the best players in history.
“I didn’t see him a lot because he played before I was born, but I’ve seen the images since and he always looked like the complete player. He was a man with a big mentality, so it’s a pity for football, but above all else, for his family.”
