Vitor Pereira says watching his team train over recent days has given him confidence that they will compete well on Tuesday evening against West Ham United.
When Wolves take to the Molineux pitch on Tuesday evening, 17 days will have passed since their last Premier League test – a 2-1 win at Southampton – but Pereira wants the momentum to continue despite the international period.
The Hammers are one place, but eight points above the Old Gold in the table, and while he’s happy to have a buffer on the bottom three, the head coach insists there is still a lot of work to do, starting on Tuesday evening.
On returning from the internationals
“After an international break, the problem is every time to put them on the same page, because they come from different games, different style of plays, and now we need to put them on the same page.
“Some of them came very tired, jet lagged, problems sleeping, but this is football. We cannot complain, we must be happy with our life, happy to be here, happy to have in our hands the possibility to stay in the Premier League, and keep fighting together.”
On looking forward to West Ham
“It’s a big opportunity for us to get three more points, to keep fighting with our supporters, to make them proud, to play with passion, and that's all. The players, the team give me the confidence that tomorrow we will compete, for sure, for the three points, and next game, we'll compete again for three points. This is the spirit that I want to see in my team.
“A strong team, technically and tactically. The work of the coach is very good. It is a team with confidence, with ball players, with high quality, but I have a fantastic team in a fantastic city, fantastic weather, and tomorrow, for sure, we'll compete.”
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— Wolves (@Wolves) March 31, 2025
On Bellegarde’s strong form
“I’m very happy for him, because he’s a team player, and I like this kind of player. In the beginning I had doubts about his position in the system, but now he can play in different positions, he can play as a midfielder, he can play as a forward in between the lines. He is a worker, and I like this kind of player.”
On his work on show
“The players are not machines. I don't want a robot team. I want a team with a brain. We have moments in games where we must take risks. Other moments, no. We have areas on the pitch where we can take this risk, and I want them to have this confidence to appear in the box, to play one against one.
“Even when we are defending, some moments of the game we are playing one against one, and they must have this confidence, because we have every time our goalkeeper behind to cover the space at the back. Sometimes taking risks, other times play safe. This is football.”
On gaining positivity from the fans
“I go to a pub to be with the people, with the supporters, because I want to charge with energy. It's like I'm charging with energy, with happiness, and this is very important for me. I need to be with them to feel the to feel that we are making something to make them happy. I came to the club without top energy, without top strength to fight, and this is very important. I want players with the spirit.”
