Gary O’Neil wants every single Wolves player committed to the cause as the Old Gold prepare to begin their 2023/24 Premier League campaign at Old Trafford tomorrow night.
The head coach, who confirmed Matheus Cunha missed a few days of training this week but was expected to be back on the pitch in time for the opening fixture of the campaign, has acknowledged the difficult task that awaits his players, but believes his squad can achieve a positive result against Manchester United if they all pull in the same direction.
On opening the season against United
“They’re a good side, a very good side, and I watched a fair bit of them in pre-season, but I’ve still got more to do. They’ve had some good performances and some fantastic players, and I think they will be better than they were last season from what I’ve seen, so it’s going to be a big challenge.
“The big challenge for me will be that every other club in the league have been working towards this game for six weeks in a certain way and we’ve had a very different pre-season to that and have been working in a different way until four or five days to go.
“But there are no excuses in there and I’m aware we have a Premier League game on Monday, so I want to make sure the group is as ready as we can be.”
On leading Wolves out at Old Trafford
“It will be a big test. It always is. When Wolves went there last season it was a big test, when I went there with Bournemouth last season it was a big test, when Man City go there it’s a big test, it’s a tough place to go, but I’m looking forwards to it.
“It’s a fantastic place to go and a massive place to take a team, and I’m proud to lead such a big club and go and compete at a top stadium against a top side. Of course, we want to come away with something, so a lot of work still to be done over the next 48 hours to make sure we’re ready.”
On Monday evening’s game plan
“It's about getting everybody fully committed to the game plan and what we are. It’s early, we’ll have only been together three or four days before the game, but it’s a Premier League game, away at Manchester United, so we need everybody committed to everything we’ve got and see if we can pull off a really good positive result on our first outing.
“It won’t be anything too complicated, there will be some detail to go into the game and how we go about it, but the message from me to the group, to the supporters and to everyone involved will be to attack a game at Old Trafford, see where we can get to, see how we can perform and see where that gets us on the evening, dust ourselves down and go again.”
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 11, 2023
On Maximilian Kilman being named captain
"I’ve had a chat with Max and the captaincy will remain with him. I haven’t decided on vice-captain yet, but Max is a really important member of the group. The way he works, the way he trains, the way everyone sees him and speaks about him around the place - he's a really important member.
"I’ve watched him train this morning and his leadership qualities are really good, as are a lot of players in the group - Mario [Lemina], Matheus Nunes, Dawson, among others, but there are more than enough leaders in this group to ensure that we keep pushing things forward and upholding the standards that we set.
"Really pleased with the leadership qualities the group has, but for Max, he is obviously a really talented boy and I’m excited to work with him and try to push him on again to see if we can try to get him to the next level.”
Your Wolves captain, @maxkilman © pic.twitter.com/qfpjWpo7vE
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 11, 2023
On Fabio Silva’s involvement
“He’s had a good pre-season. I’ve watched all the games and he’s looked lively, he looks fit, so I’m pleased with where he is and where he’s at. Obviously, he’s only had two days working with me so it’s hard to tell from that spell, but from the pre-season games and how bright he’s looked, he looks to be a great asset for us, and I look froward to working with him.
“From where I’m sat now, I expect Fabio to be a big part of what we do this season. But it’s the same with a lot of the lads, to be fair, they’ve had fairly good pre-seasons, look sharp, look fit, and obviously it’s my job to keep improving that.
“I’m really pleased with the attacking players and also the boys at the back and how solid they’ve looked because they haven’t conceded too many goals in pre-season, so I look to keep both of those things moving in the right direction.”
On Sasa Kalajdzic’s recovery
“He's worked very hard for two days and he probably found the end of both sessions a bit tough, and started to tire towards the end, which is to expect when he’s had two really tough injuries that he’s had to recover from and it’s still early in the process of him coming back. But he will be monitored daily and weekly and see where we can get him to.
“I’ve not put real thought into whether he will start or whether he will last 90, but do I think he’s usable and can get something out of him – definitely. But he’s given absolutely everything for two days so we’ll keep working with him, he looks keen, he looks like he wants to impact it.
“So, we’ll speak to the fitness coaches and see where he is because we have his best interests at heart as well. It’s not just about throwing him in before he’s ready, so we need to make sure he’s in a safe area fitness-wise and then we can push him hard.”
