Gary O’Neil says the leaders within the Wolves camp have helped ensure the group is fully prepared for the tough task of taking on Manchester City this weekend.
The head coach was impressed with what he saw in training on Friday, where he and his players worked on a game plan to show the best version of themselves against the current Premier League champions. O’Neil, who also saw his goalkeeper Jose Sa sign a new contract this week, is under no allusions of the difficult task ahead of his group on Saturday and beyond, but is certain there’s enough quality in the group to have a successful season.
On a difficult task ahead
“It’s obviously a big task, but it’s a real good opportunity for us to see where we’re at and give a good account of ourselves to try and be the best version of us, and you see where that gets you on the day. We know Manchester City are a fantastic side, probably the best side in world football, so we need a lot to align.
“We’re trying to have a clear understanding of what we are and what we want to look like. We have our way in the game and have had some relative success in that. It’s trying to find a good balance, like usual, of being aggressive when we’re ready to be, from a position we feel comfortable, and trying to have good spells on the ball if we can, because they’re obviously very good.”
On big characters
“There are leaders within the group, definitely, some who are vocal and some who lead by example. It’s similar everywhere now, the shouting and screaming has died down a lot from when I played and there’s a slightly different feel in society in general now, not only football.
“There’s leadership in there. You saw in training, there’s a real focus on the leaders in the group making sure the rest are ready for what’s coming tomorrow. Sometimes when you don’t have enough on there things can start to get away from you and you feel you need to get them in the dressing room to help them, but when we’ve got our key leaders on there, I’m really confident we can get the boys to a good understanding of situations where they can manage things themselves.”
On Sa’s new contract
“It’s fantastic for us. He’s made some big saves for us already this season and is really good around the place, good in the dressing room. I’m really pleased we managed to get that one done, and we secured the services of a really good goalkeeper for the next four years.”
On getting settled into the role
“It’s a fantastic job, I love what I do, I love working for such a fantastic club. The six games we’ve had have been tough, tough starting fixtures, and we’ve shown some good spells in most of them. Luton was disappointing with the way the game started, we weathered a bit of a storm and then lost a man to the sending off, so didn’t really get to show that we were going to stamp any authority from that moment, which I feel we would have, but we showed good resilience to get out of there with something.
“From my point of view, loads of work to do, and I understand my responsibility to get the best out of the group. Some things have gone against us, and we’ve had some good spells, so we’re trying to progress if from there.”
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On preparing for City
“It’s a different test, for sure, but one the boys are looking forward to. We’ve had a real, good couple of days in preparation and the lads are in a good spot, looking forward to the game and to giving a good account of ourselves.
“We need to improve lots of different things and there are areas which still need improving, as will always be the case, and we’ll get it there. The lads are fully committed to absolutely everything we ask. We’re going to keep improving them, I have no doubts in the group whatsoever, clear that I can maximise what we have there.”
