After spending pre-season with the first-team, under-21s striker Nathan Fraser believes he has returned to James Collins’ group as a better player.
The youngster got off the mark for the season in Monday evening’s Premier League 2 defeat at Stoke City - a game in which Fraser has bemoaned a couple of individual mistakes which saw Wolves two down at the break. His goal nine minutes after the interval reduced the deficit to one, before Harvey Griffiths’ straight red card meant the visitors were forced to play the final 22 minutes with 10 men and unable to complete a comeback despite their best efforts.
On conceding twice in the first half
“In the first half there were a couple of individual mistakes from myself and someone else. We don’t deal with it at the back and then we’re 2-0 down.
“Suddenly, going into the second half we’re having to score two to get a point so we kind of put ourselves into a situation.
“We have a game plan which is quite clear, but when two goals go in you suddenly have to tweak it a little bit and change it.
“That effects everyone on the pitch and gives us less of a chance to get back into the game.”
On trying to get back into the game
“As a team we knew we were capable of scoring two and getting back in the game, even getting three.
“It was about getting back in the game and trying to get three goals we knew we were capable of.
“Personally, it’s always good as a striker to get a goal and my first goal. Hopefully I can get some more in the coming games.”
On playing well with 10 men
“Harvey (Griffiths) came off but the way we changed formation, we didn’t have an underload anywhere on the pitch other than the back.
“It didn’t really affect us going forward but mentality it can sometimes affect the team.
“I think we showed good character and after going down to 10 men, it didn’t look like we were down to 10 men really.”
On training with the first-team in pre-season
“I’ve been with the first-team and it’s always a good experience to learn. You’ve got all the good players and the coaches to learn off.
“I think I’ve improved as a player and the experience has been really good.
“After being in those situations with the first-team, I think you need to put the pressure on yourself to try and be one of the main players in the team – really help the team and push us on to win more games.
“I’m hoping in the next few games I can help the team to get a win.”
