Vitor Pereira says it’s important after a defeat that Wolves regain their positive energy quickly, as he takes his side to the south west to face Bristol City.
The head coach suffered his first defeat in the Molineux hotseat on Monday evening but has an opportunity to make amends on Saturday lunchtime when his side face the Championship side who are unbeaten in four matches.
The Robins are placed three points outside of the play-off positions, and Pereira says his side must treat the cup tie like a Premier League game, aware of the threat Bristol City will pose at Ashton Gate.
On injuries in the camp
“They [Semedo, Dawson and Toti] are working to recover as soon as possible. I cannot say the time that they need to come back for the game, but I think they are recovering well and doing good work. I don't think they will be available [for Saturday]. He’s [Andre] working with us. He's training in conditions to go to the game, if I decide.”
On an important cup tie
“After a defeat, you need to look for the next game, and the next game is the Bristol City game. It’s important for us, if we want to move on in the competition, and if you want to get the positive energy again, this is a very important match for us. We had training today, very good training, good energy. The players are happy, committed and this is what I want to see.”
On watching the FA Cup previously
“The finals of this competition, I remember some of them. Fantastic atmospheres, the games, the scoring, something that we want to live. This is a game that we need to face as a Premier League game, because this team has a lot of quality, tactical quality, individual quality, and they play at home. It means that they will do everything to win the game. We need to be at our best level competing, with the right mentality to face them, and with ambition. This is what we need for this game.
“The cup is important in Portugal, it's important to win the cup, but for them the Champions League and the league are more important. Here, the cup is a tradition, and it’s amazing. You give all teams the opportunity to show their work and the individual quality of the players. This is a fantastic challenge.”
On the goalkeeper situation
“The fight is competition. We have internal competition and external competition, and this is good. It's important to have players in the same position competing. We have Daniel too, and we have four goalkeepers. They are working. They are doing very good work, committed work, and I'm happy with them. It’s a possibility for Sam, in next game, to show his qualities.
“This is my job. I needed to decide to start with one [goalkeeper] and look at the performance. If the performance is good, I’ll keep the same goalkeeper. If I see that I need to change, I will change. It’s like the other players, in my opinion, some games we need different skills from them. We can use the different skills to surprise the opposite team. When I came, I had to decide. I had to have a decision, and I started with Sa. He is doing well, and I hope that he keeps the level, and we’ll see in the future.”
No time to waste 💭🗣️ pic.twitter.com/DBULWiVRhR
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 9, 2025
On work in the transfer window
“They [the recruitment team] did their work and they proposed to me some players to check. And that's what we are doing together, watching players, watching profiles, trying to understand if the profile is the best profile to help us in the moment, because we cannot think about the long-term future. We need players ready to help us in this moment. The January market, in my opinion, is not a market to take risks. We need to be clinical to find the right players to come to help us now. For the future but looking for this moment is important.”
