Jean-Ricner Bellegarde believes Wolves’ – as well as his own – improvements during the second half of the season have been down to the confidence instilled in the players by head coach Vitor Pereira.
The Frenchman has been in impressive form since the arrival of the Portuguese, which has culminated in Bellegarde picking up the club’s SUDU Player of the Month award in February, as well as being nominated for the Premier League’s best player gong last month.
Bellegarde has also been helped by the arrival of French-speaking teammates Emmanuel Agbadou and Marshall Munetsi in January and feels the whole group have benefited from the ‘breath of fresh air’ which came with the mid-season additions.
On a third successive win
“We were very happy. It was a very important match for us and a great victory. We knew we had to get the points there and we had the feeling of a team that wanted to fight to stay in the Premier League.
“We really felt that until the end – from the starters to the bench players, everyone was involved. Of course, we were very happy, especially for Pablo [Sarabia], because he brings a lot to the team. He came on, he’s always been involved, but honestly, it was a great team effort.
“We were all happy, and we got to celebrate in the changing room with the coach, because he wasn’t on the bench during the game, but he was still part of the celebrations afterwards.”
The pitchside view of the winner at the weekend 😍 pic.twitter.com/20SiuZDAyQ
— Wolves (@Wolves) April 7, 2025
On overcoming a difficult start to the season
“We can’t exactly pinpoint where the struggle was, but we can say we conceded a lot of goals and didn’t score enough. It was a team problem, rather than on any individual. At the start of the season, we weren’t very confident, so we had to rebuild that confidence.
“It was important for the ream to build trust again because if you are stringing together matches without points, it weighs you down and mentally, it becomes difficult, so over time, we lost our balance.
“But now you can feel the team is a bit more stable together again. We’re conceding fewer goals and fewer goals equals better results.”
On developing under Pereira
“First of all, I think being a coach in that situation is hard. He came into a difficult situation because we were a team that lacked confidence.
“But he managed to come in and give confidence to the players, he imposed his will to win, and he passed his strong desire to win on to the team, and that led to better results.
“It was a breath of fresh air and obviously, we got the results afterwards, and he has helped the players believe in themselves again.”
On Wolves’ growing French-speaking contingent
“I invite the others to my house because my wife has been cooking some nice meals, especially during Ramadan, she was cooking nice meals, but the vibe is really good.
“It’s good to be able to speak French together and we can speak in French on the pitch when the conditions allow it.
“There are others as well, like Agbadou and Munetsi, who can speak French, so it’s made it easier to integrate them into the club, especially tactically. We give each other advice if needed and there’s a great atmosphere between us.”
