Nelson Semedo hopes the tighter bonds he is creating in the Wolves squad off the pitch will help the team when they step on it and prove to be the difference in their battle against Premier League relegation.
Having taken on the captain’s responsibilities in December – and following three new arrivals in the January transfer window – Semedo has made it his task to bring the playing squad closer together away from training, with the Portuguese having arranged a paintballing session in Cosford as well as getting the group to dine together at the ‘Fjaka’ restaurant ran by Sasa Kalajdzic’s wife in Tettenhall.
With a run of games against teams around them in the table coming up shortly, Semedo insists the team’s focus is solely on the visit to high-flying Bournemouth this Saturday, but believes the spirit in the group, as well as the momentum gained from recent performances, could be enough to leave the south coast with an important three points.
On leading as captain
“I'm enjoying it a lot. I think we're doing better now, but we know we still have to improve a lot. But leading this team is nice also, because we have very good professionals, and I know we have very good people here in this dressing room.
“I know everybody trusts me as well, I trust everybody, so I just try to be me.”
On taking the squad paint balling
“We had fun, a couple of bruises as well, but it's part of the job. It's important for us to build the team spirit, because we know that doing some stuff off the pitch, having some fun, will help inside of the pitch.
“I think unconsciously everybody will be giving a bit more, and everybody will be ready to help their teammates, and I think everybody will feel like the teammate we have next to us is part of the family, I'm here for him and I know that if I need it, he will be here for me as well.”
On dining together at Kalajdzic’s restaurant
“It's really important to make [the new signings] settle as fast as first we can, and for that to happen, I think just training with them is not enough. We have to show them the other versions of us outside of the club.
“We go for dinner together, and we went for dinner last week in Sasa's restaurant, he invited us and it was a really good thing that we did. That’s a pretty good way to welcome the guys and to make them feel comfortable, especially in the case of Marshall [Munetsi] and Nasser [Djiga], because they don't have their families here and they are living in a hotel right now, so it’s good to bring them with us and make them feel a part [of the group].
“It's a really nice restaurant, it actually the first time I went there, and I love the food. I think everybody was in love with the food also. We had a mix of Mediterranean, because we had some pasta, we had some lamb as well, there were some desserts from Croatia, and it was really nice food.”
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On Munetsi’s early showings
“Marshall is really talented. He really works as well, he works a lot. Even in the game against Liverpool, he was not playing in his position, but you can see that he is available for everything he gets.
“You can see that he will work hard and it doesn't matter which position you put him in, he’s going to give 100% of himself, and he did well.
“Even though he’s not a striker, he appeared in the area a couple times, and had chances, but physically as well, he's tall, he fights for the balls, he has pace, so I think he will help us a lot.”
On only focusing on Bournemouth
“We have to go game by game. Obviously, we want to go as high as we can in the table, but now we have to go game by game and try to make the most points we can.
“We have a couple of good games that are coming up now, and we have to be in our best form to win those games. We have Bournemouth first this weekend and they are doing really well.
“This is our next game and I think that's the game that we have to look for now and just try to win the game. Then, we'll go for the Fulham game and keep doing like that.”
