The head coach now has a plethora of attacking options available to him following the Brazilian officially becoming a Wolves player on the turn of 2023, together with the return to fitness of both Raul Jimenez and Hee Chan Hwang. But with some positions in his squad light on numbers, Lopetegui ensures the work is not only going on inside the training pitches ahead of facing a Villa side managed by fellow countryman Unai Emery, but also in the transfer window.
On having Matheus Cunha available
“He’s going to be able to help us at Villa Park. He’s going to be on the squad list. The most important thing is that he’s a complete player. We’ve talked about this and I think that we can use him in different situations.
“He’s a forward, of course, but it depends on our way to play, he can play in the middle as an attacking forward, as a second forward or maybe in the wing. We are going to change depending on the situation with him, but that’s normal for the kinds of players we have; Hee Chan for example, he’s played in different positions and is, more or less, this kind of player.
“He’s a good player. All good players can provide good skills and good strengths for the team. He’s a very balanced player; he’s very physical but he’s also a very technical player. He has good technical skills, but we can also take advantage of his strengths as a footballer.”
Ready for action ☑️ pic.twitter.com/1S3r1oqZuo
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 3, 2023
On his first West Midlands derby
“I understand because I have been in one of the biggest derbies that you can have in the world in Sevilla vs Betis, and they are very special matches.
“You have to understand this and you have to translate this feeling to the players because we are not in the culture of our country, we are not in the history of our teams, so we have to know all these because all this can help us focus better on this match.
“I enjoy always the demand of the derbies because they’re a very special environment because it’s good for all the fans, for all the teams, but the thing you enjoy more is when you win, so that is the most important thing.
“We have to be balanced. We have to have energy and motivation, but we have to be balanced to try to play football. This is the most important thing; to play well with the ball and to be ready to defend well without the ball.”
On his relationship with Emery
“We know each other a lot. He’s from the same part of Spain, the Basque Country, so I know him a lot and he knows me a lot, so tomorrow we are going to find each other again.
“I think he’s a very good coach, he has showed this in England, in Spain and in France, and he’s doing a very good job in his short amount of time at Aston Villa. Each coach has his style and his way to play, which he has, and his team is showing that in a very short space of time.
“He’s improved them a lot, in my opinion, and I wish him the best, but not for tomorrow. We are neighbours in our country, and I think that we have a big respect for each other. But tomorrow, we will have different responsibilities and different teams, and each of us want to win.”
👍 Getting set for Villa ✌️ pic.twitter.com/JQZQf91orK
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 3, 2023
On making additions to his squad
“All of us know that we need more players because we have a very short squad, but we are working for this. Now, the situation is that we have to put the focus on the players that can play tomorrow and this is all. We are looking for the future, but the more important future is for tomorrow.
“We are going to try to transmit to the players that all of them are to be ready and focused in helping us in each match. I understand that when the market opens some players will be a bit nervous, but they also have to be responsible and they have to be focused on our first aim and our demands, which is to be here 100 per cent.
“You cannot stay here while thinking about being in another team. It’s impossible. It’s very difficult when you’re focused at 100 per cent, and if you’re not, it’s impossible.”
On his available attacking options
“All the players have to work a lot to be ready, and then they have to show me that they are ready to be in the line-up. For me, the line-up is very important, but we also need to have key players on the bench, so they have to be ready every time.
“Now we’re going to start a continuous cycle of matches every three or four days, so we have to use a lot of players. We don’t have a very long squad, so we have to look for all the players, so all of them have to be ready.
“In some positions we have a lot of players and in other positions we have very few players, this is why we have to balance the squad. He’s [Jimenez] very important for us and in this situation they have to fight to show that they are able to play in the line-up and after to show in the matches, but all of them are working in a good way and step by step I think Raul is feeling better. Of course, we want him to be fit because we need all of the players in 100 per cent of their conditions.”
