As Wolves prepare to face Chelsea on Monday evening, Vitor Pereira is calling for marked improvements from his players after successive 3-0 defeats in their last two Premier League outings.
The head coach hopes the team will be boosted by the return of Matheus Cunha after the Brazilian came off the bench midway through the loss at Newcastle United on Wednesday evening, but having missed training on Friday due to flu-like symptoms, it will be a race against time to see if this season’s top scorer will make the bus for Stamford Bridge.
On Cunha’s absence from training
“Today he [Cunha] was out of the training because he’s got a flu. He is a bit sick, but I hope tomorrow he will be on the pitch, and maybe if he’s on the pitch training, it is a possibility to play the next game.
“Semedo is training and Toti is recovering. He’s recovering well and I believe [he will return] in one week – maybe, I'm not a doctor. But Toti is recovering well, Bouba [Traore] is working with us now after the injury in the knee and Sasa [Kalajdzic] is working with the medical department.”
On demanding more from the Brazilian
“Cunha gives us the creativity as unpredictable player. He can create magic in the moment on the pitch and create something special.
“But this kind of player – and this is my conversation with Cunha, to be a top, top level player, we know that he has the level, he has the technical level, he has the conditions, the skills – top skills – but he must be committed all the moments, every moment in the game.
“If we lose the ball, he must give the first example to the others that he is running to get the ball again, compact the team, recover positions, defensive position, recover fast, and this is the behaviours and the personality for the top level players. This is what I'm demanding from him.”
On facing Chelsea on Monday night
“They are a team that maybe five games away was a team to win the league. Now, because they are not getting the results, they have the same players, the same manager, top players a top manager.
“They are a team that has identity as a team, they play in the style where they have a model game, and we must go there with our identity and the things that we try to work every day, trying to increase every day.
“I'm not a coach that if I lose a game, I would change my mind. I’m a coach to create an identity, to increase the level, to increase the level to play in the same style, in the way to have intentions. We go to face Chelsea, trying to play our game.
“Of course, in the other side, we'll face a team with quality, with top players, and against top players, you cannot consider the spaces and the time to play in the way that they like.”
On what needs to improve
“We learn every day of our life until the end. We can improve every time. We need to look at the last game and understand the way that we conceded the goals, the way that we missed our chances, a clear picture for us, and this is the moment that we need to improve because I know that we can improve a lot. We have potential to improve a lot.
“But it needs to be step by step, it needs results, but I don't want a team that after we lose a game, we don’t look at the game. We need to look at what we did well, what we must correct and we go through the corrections. This is the way to improve – correcting, correcting, correcting.
“Then we understand that we cannot do this, we cannot do this, we must be there, we must be there in the good positioning, not allowing counter attacks, to not allow this space, to defend inside the box.
“When we are attacking, almost every time it’s the decision, it’s the last run, the last pass, the last shot, the angle to shoot, the positions that we need to appear in because when I have the ball and I go to the line, I must know that in all these positions, there will be someone there to score. And this is something that we need to improve together.”
On Lemina missing Newcastle trip
“He asked to be out of the game because, mentally, he was not in the right condition. Today, he came to me in the morning and apologised to me and apologised to the team, and he said that he is ready to do his best for the team until we have a decision – and this is the way that he must behave, because we are professional.
“The club pay the salaries and it means that I should come here with the energy to help until the last day. We can commit mistakes in our life. I’ve made some mistakes in my life, and we must give him the opportunity to show in his actions. I believe that he spoke with his heart and he will try.
“I'm here to see if he can or not, and if he can help, ok, if he cannot, I prefer to go with another one who is committed. But I hope he does because Mario has quality. Mario can bring us physicality in the midfield, technical quality, but it depends on his mind.”
On making further additions in January
“I hope so. We are working. We are doing our work and I hope that before the market closes we can receive one or two players, at least. We know to be more comfortable for this fight, a difficult fight which we will face, we need at least two more players, in my opinion.
“We need more solutions to help. I'm very happy with the team and with the players that I have, but I think we need more solutions in midfield and maybe another defender
“We are trying to understand the market and the opportunities in the market depends on what we find. If we find the right players to bring in, then ok, if not, it's better not to bring them in.”
