Mario Lemina says it’s the job of the leadership group to ensure confidence doesn’t drop in the Wolves camp after losing to Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Old Gold lost their four-match unbeaten run against the Cherries, with Lemina again utilised in defence alongside Toti. Although the game didn’t go according to plan, the Gabon international wants to move on, with his focus now on Everton, knowing the senior players will rally around the group ahead of the trip to Merseyside.
On starting afresh
“To be honest, we have to move on. We had been doing well since the Brighton game. We had four games unbeaten and Bournemouth did really well against us. They're really intense, pressing us, and we made a lot of mistakes, and we should do better. It’s part of the football, we tried to play our game, they did well, they deserved the win because we made some mistakes. We have to move on right now and try to win against Everton.”
On getting the momentum back
“Even before, we’d been really confident with what we do and the way we play. We just needed to get to this chemistry between us and find the right timing, the right things to do on the pitch, and we had some unlucky results.
“We believe in our group, we've been working really hard, and I think we deserve what we did the last few weeks. We’re going to try to keep going that way, and forget about what happened against Bournemouth, and try to be more clinical.”
On results feeling different as captain
“Nothing really changed for me, because I've been in this role even since last year, part of the leadership players. I just try to make sure that the guys are feeling well and still confident in what we do. I try to be the best that I can be as a human being for them. It’s different when you lose, and you have to find the words to the lads to keep going in the right way, and that’s what we try to do as a leadership group.”
On playing in defence
“Different challenges. It's been really interesting. The first time that I played in a back four, and I try to be as consistent as I am in the midfield, try to help the team as much as I can, try to find the right way to play, to make play with others as well, to make them confident that we're going to keep our goal, our defence, as strong as possible. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s difficult, and it was difficult in the last game.
“It’s about details, and when you give away three penalties in one game, it’s harder, but I'm going to do my best, even if I play defender, striker, winger. I've been all around in this team, and I'm really pleased with that, I like to try new things, to challenge myself.
“I enjoyed last season, playing forward and trying to score some goals. At the same time now we've been lacking some defenders. We had a couple injuries, and I had to make sure that I can as do my best in this position. The Gaffer trusts me, and he knows that I'm going to give all I can for him and for the club.
“Now my focus is about a clean sheet and trying to win games. I don't mind scoring, I don't mind assisting, I just want to win games and move forward for the next one.”
