Having recently celebrated two years since making his Wolves debut, Toti believes he has plenty more to show, but first, the defender is preparing for a Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday night.
Toti and the Old Gold are looking for their fourth top fight win in succession after returning to their league campaign following a three-week period which saw Gary O’Neil’s men head on a warm weather training camp in Abu Dhabi as well as book their place in the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup thanks to a replay victory over Brentford.
And although there is the prospect of a Black Country derby on the horizon which the squad are looking forward to, Toti insists the team are currently fully focused on what awaits them at the Amex Stadium this Monday.
On two years since his Wolves debut
“Time is flying but I am very, very grateful for the opportunity they gave to me. When I first came, I went straight on loan to Switzerland and I was working and working very hard to get an opportunity back at Wolves, and thankfully it worked out.
“Now I’ve been getting more and more game time and it’s everything I could have wanted. I’ve been getting more and more consistency and I’m just grateful for the coach in trusting me.
“Looking back over the two years, I see a different player than today, but I still have a lot to improve. I will keep listening to the coach and my teammates so I can improve myself because there is nothing that I have done yet.”
On training camp in Abu Dhabi
“It was good to get away and breathe in some fresh air. I enjoyed the weather while we were away because it was really good in Abu Dhabi, it’s a beautiful place, and Dubai is near there as well, so we went there too.
“Although the main thing was the training and the training camp, and when it was time to work, everyone gave everything, but the coach also gave us a little bit of free time to rest and meet up with some friends, and do things together as a team, so it was really good. We had some free time, but we all respected the curfew and everything else the coach said.”
“It was really good. It was a hard game for us and we know Brentford are a tough team. To play the 90 minutes plus 30 more is not easy and we had a break from the championship, we prepared very well for this game, and we knew we needed to win this match, we really wanted to win, and thankfully it went well for us.
“We are very confident in ourselves, but this is because of the coach as well. He makes us feel like this and we just do on the pitch what we train each day at the training ground. We need to keep going like this, especially when we play at home because we feel a different atmosphere from the fans.
“They push us a lot and this is why we’ve been having these types of results recently. It was very key because we started the match well, but lost the first goal, which was something we were not expecting with the way we were playing, but even when we were losing, we knew we could give something more because we had a lot of time to change the game. We believe in ourselves and we went with everything, and thankfully everything went well in the end.”
On the prospect of a Black Country derby
“Everybody has been telling us that it’s a big derby. We know this. We will face them after the next game of Brighton, but we know it will be a very tough game. It’s true that they are in the second division, but that means nothing.
“It will be a tough game, that will be 50/50, but we will go with everything. We want to win that derby. My teammates who have played in it told me because before I came here, I didn’t know much about this derby, but they’ve been telling me about how big this game is for our fans, so we really want to win it for them.”
A thrilling two hours of football 🥵
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 16, 2024
What was your favourite moment tonight? pic.twitter.com/LTnHWgnLkv
On the threat Brighton pose
“Brighton is a tough challenge. For me, with the way they play, they are one of the best teams in the Premier League. They play really good football and I think it’s because of their coach as well. I don’t know him very well, but I know he’s a good coach and he prepares them very well.
“When I sit at home and watch the other games from the Premier League, every time I watch Brighton, I see they are playing good football and have a good team. But this is the Premier League and every team can beat everyone. I trust in myself and my teammates as well that we will go there and face them eye-to-eye and will try to get the three points.”
