FULL DETAILS OF GARY 'NEIL'S PRESS CONFERENCE AHEAD OF WOLVES V CRYSTAL PALACE
Starting off with team news, head of Palace. How are the teams looking in terms of Sam Johnstone and Mario Lemina especially?
Yeah, Sam should be fine. He will be fine for tomorrow
We expect Mario has trained a couple of days. I think we’ll check on him tomorrow but hopefully he’ll be okay as well. I don’t think we’ve got any other issues.
No, the rest of it is the same as it was.
Looking ahead to Palace, have the teams been able to gain a bit more belief and positivity from that last-minute draw against Brighton last week?
Yeah, I think a moment like that in the season puts some energy into it. They didn’t lack belief really but you need something to grab onto and it was a big response to a tough situation. So, yeah, a big point for us of course and now we know we have a big home game this weekend, which will be difficult for sure. Everyone’s seen Crystal Palace in their last few performances and their last couple of results have been excellent as well
So, it will be a real test but we take some energy and belief into the game.
And looking more at Crystal Palace, what have you made of their start to the season? Why do you think they haven’t been able to replicate the form we saw towards the end of last season?
They lost two really good players in Anderson and Olise. They all play a massive part
We faced that Palace side at the end of last season when they were flying, and I thought Anderson was excellent that day against us and Alisse is obviously top. Losing those two would have had an impact. They’ve had some tough fixtures but they’ve also been good at restricting the opposition to chances from open play.
So, they’re a difficult team to create against. When you play them at home, it can get frustrating because they are tough to break down. You need to be good with the ball and very clinical when you get your moments. We know what to expect from them because they are always the same. Back five, try to be aggressive with it. Don’t spend too much time in build-up. They play long a lot
They are one of the more direct teams in the league, so they’ll test us. They’ll go into their front players and scrap for second balls. All of that will be a real test for us, and then we need to bring our own style, personality, and the energy that Molineux can produce, especially with an evening kick-off.
I’m hoping it will be dark. I’m sure it will be dark by 5.30. It always feels that way. There’s a little bit more energy in the stadium by then
I’m looking forward to it because it is an opportunity for us. Sam can be playing against his former club.
Just wondering what you’ve made of his start to the season? Of course he’s missed the last few games with injury but generally, what have you made of his start to the season?
I think he and Jose have both benefited from the situation. Sam hadn’t played for a while at Crystal Palace and had a significant injury during that spell
He’s come in, had a small niggle, but he’s trained well. Jose has shown that he’s not giving up his spot easily. Every day in training you can see a real determination in him and his performances
So, it’s good for the group that we have both of them pushing. Bents was excellent again today in some of the things he did. That department is in a really good spot.
We need them to keep pushing each other. Then it’s down to me to make the right call
Just finally from you, Gary, all the club’s managers today have been asked what they make of Ruben Amorim being announced as Manchester United manager. Do you know much about him and what do you think he’ll bring to the league?
It’s good to see a young, up-and-coming manager. He hasn’t been managing for too long, maybe four or five years. He has an excellent record. I haven’t seen much of his work
I know they play very good football and will bring a big personality. And obviously, Manchester United is an incredible club
So, I’m sure he’s looking forward to it. It’s good to see another challenge for the managers in the Premier League. A new one coming over that will test me for sure when we play against them
We haven’t played them yet, so it will be a new test. Hopefully, it goes well for him. It’s an incredible club that has had good spells since Sir Alex left but has never managed to recapture that dominant place at the top of English football that they had for so long
So, I’m sure they’ll be hoping this is the start of that.
You mentioned Palace and how they sold Olise and Anderson and maybe have taken longer than they hoped to get going this season with tough fixtures. Do you see possible comparisons between Wolves and Palace?
No, we lost a couple of players. Of course, we did from the starting XI that was mainly named last season
I’m keen to ensure that our group understands we have enough to push ourselves and be competitive. I don’t know the ins and outs of what’s going on at Crystal Palace, but I know losing Olise and Anderson will impact how the team performs. They’ve replaced them with Nketiah from Arsenal, who’s a top talent
The centre-back who’s come in has done very well in the last couple of games. But it can be tough to replace them at first. And secondly, to get the new ones up to speed and understanding
Because the transfer window means these new players arrive late as well, so you don’t usually get the full pre-season with them. Just that understanding. But I am very aware of our situation and know the ins and outs
Whereas with Crystal Palace, obviously you’re much further away from it. Our group’s ready to go tomorrow and we understand we’ve had a tough start to the season. We’d love to have more than two points
But what shows is that our faith and belief is intact. Any team that can come back from 2-0 down away from home against a team fifth or sixth in the league with five minutes left shows it still has a lot of fight and togetherness in it. So, yes, a real positive signAnd we need to make the most of that again and take it into tomorrow.
You’ve seen players step up a level under your watch here. Oliver Glasner seems to have had a transformative effect on Mateta, which you saw at Molineux at the end of last season
Is he the one you’re watching tomorrow?
Yes, I think that direct style suits him. I think they use him very well in it. From goal kicks, they’ll make one short pass and then it will go quickly up to him
He’s difficult to handle in those situations. So, it will be a test for our centre-backs tomorrow and our midfielders getting down around second balls and trying to tidy up any mess. It has definitely benefited him, the new style and how they play
They create a lot of their chances on transition as well, regaining the ball. So, we need to be very good in those moments and make sure we don’t take too many risks in areas we shouldn’t and manage the game well. If you go behind to this Crystal Palace team, they can be tough to break down
So, the start of the game and the early actions will be very important.
You’ve got four key players on four yellow cards in a big game. How do you and the players manage that?
Yes, we always tell the players not to get any soft yellow cards
But legitimate ones that you can’t avoid in the modern game, we have to accept. So, that is where we are. There’s nothing we can do about it
But just a reminder really, let’s not give any cheap ones away and keep the boys available for as long as possible.
Do you sense there isn’t that pressure, that there’s plenty of belief in this camp? Because this will be, what, the tenth game. Sometimes it’s a judge-after-ten-games kind of thing. The prognosis if a team gets to ten games without a win is bleak for teams in the Premier League. But do you not feel that pressure that’s coming, maybe externally, but on the group?
No, I think the job of a player involves pressure
If you’re not under any pressure, it means you’re not performing at a high level. So, the fact we’re under pressure just is what it is. Ten games means nothing to me. We know where we are after 38
Why would ten be any different to eight, twelve, or fourteen? There’s no lines drawn at any point
We always have an opportunity to change where we are. We all know that the fixture list has been difficult for us
Very tough start. My main concern is always points on the board. But secondary to that was how the group comes through the tough run of fixtures
As I said, the response at Brighton shows where they are now. The performance against Manchester City shows where they are. We need to maintain that and turn it into points, as well as faith and belief
Just finally, it could be a big moment, couldn’t it? Under the lights at Molineux, it’s always a special atmosphere to get that first home win of the season as a springboard. And the relief. You can maybe enjoy it Saturday night
Yeah, we, myself, the players, and the staff want the fans to join us in this. We’re going to attack it full throttle. It won’t be easy
There’ll be moments when it won’t always look pretty because of the style of the team we’re playing against and how difficult they can be to create chances against
I’m sure moments will feel frustrating. But from the moment we get there until the final whistle goes, we’re going to give everything to come out on top
And I’m sure that if we look after everything we’ve spoken about in the last week, we have a good chance of doing so. Best of luck
Hi. After the game last Saturday, you talked a little about regretting starting with a five. This week, has it been about doubling down on the mentality and identity and just having everyone say, this is what we are, this is who we are, this is what we’re going to do?
Yeah, I think just trying to pick the best system for the players in each game is really important because everyone saw the difference between the first and second halves at Brighton
In the second half, we were able to really impact the game. In the first half, we were solid without carrying much of a threat. We need to ensure we get it right week on week as we tried to do last season
We were flexible last season, sometimes using Rayan in front of Toti, sometimes down in a five. So, we’ll continue to do that this year. I think it’s important that we are flexible
This weekend gives us another opportunity to make sure we get it right and the players in the right spots. Subs had a fantastic impact last week as did Tommy Doyle from the start. So yes, some big decisions to make ahead of tomorrow’s game
You mentioned the subs there. The game’s changed so much in the last two or three years, hasn’t it? With five subs, it really is a 16-man game. So sometimes are you even planning before a match just regarding who’s going to come on at what time?
Yeah, we have some things planned for certain situations normally
Obviously, they can change very quickly. We try to get ahead of a lot of situations before the game starts. And then, yeah, we try to make sure we get the right impact from them when they come on
Pablo’s impact was very good. It was a successful second-half performance because everyone knows how good Brighton can be. You watched them in their second half against Tottenham at home
Some of the results they’ve picked up already this season to be the better side for that long at their place was a big effort from everyone. It shows the impact that subs and changing things can have. It is only the first week of November, but it feels like a big moment
So about that pressure, will your team selection be down to the players you believe can embrace that pressure rather than those who might be a bit overawed?
Yeah, I think we consider everything. So, I always look at the game tactically and emotionally and see who I think is in the best place to handle both. So that will be no different tomorrow
The fact that it’s a big game doesn’t change how I feel about it. I feel exactly the same as I did when I was sat here last week and five, six weeks ago. It’s a game in the Premier League that we’re always desperate to win and the wins are always huge, no matter who it’s against, no matter when they come
Of course, we need to make sure we get one tomorrow and the following week and then see where we are.
Finally from me, we talked about Brighton. So you’re 2-0 down, away from home, a couple of minutes to go, and yet the majority of the away end were still there to share what happened. There aren’t too many club supporters I think who’d still be there in those numbers when you consider where the team is at the moment. So how big a part do they have to play tomorrow evening?
Yeah, I don’t want to keep asking too much of them. They’re an incredible group
Obviously, they’ve been through unbelievable highs over the last few years with the money the owners were able to put in and the journey they went on from the Championship to Europe and some fantastic evenings. I remember watching it on TV
They had some fantastic nights. From there, it’s changed a bit. The landscape has changed. That can be difficult to adjust to as a fan base because you’ve been privileged to be around these incredible highs and now you’re dealing with a different situation at the same club
But they’ve embraced it well. They show fantastic understanding. They deserve a certain level of performance and demand that level, as they rightly should
It’s a fantastic club and you need to earn the right to be a coach and a player here. But they are with us. You can feel it
It doesn’t make too much of a difference to me because I’m on the side and can think clearly all the time. But to the players, it makes a huge difference to have them with us, especially when it gets tough. It’s really important they’re with us when it gets tough
I’m sure they will be. As I’ve said already, we’re going to give everything tomorrow and we’re going to try to bring the crowd with us
