GARY O’NEIL: WOLVES V NEWCASTLE PRESS CONFERENCE

First of all, team news. How has everyone returned from international duty? Any injury concerns?

No, I think everybody’s okay.

We’ve obviously got a couple who haven’t trained much. Rayan and Mario picked up slight knocks. But overall, everyone’s in a decent spot apart from those two.

We’ll do a couple of late checks to ensure they’re okay for the weekend. The group is in a good place, and everyone has come back mostly fine.

I just want to double-check on Yerson Mosquera. Is he okay?

Yeah, he had some cramp in both calves, so he’s a bit fatigued from the game. He didn’t train fully with us today. We gave him an extra day to recover properly. There’s no injury, though. We’re hopeful that the next few days will help him feel better, and he should be ready for the weekend.

Looking back a few weeks, this is the first time we’ve talked since Carlos Forbs signed for the club. How pleased are you to have him, and what do you think he’ll bring to the attack?

Yeah, pleased. I finally got to introduce him to the group today. It seems like a long time since he signed, but he met everybody.

He’s an exciting young player with loads of potential, which is key for what we want to achieve at the club. As you can see with most of our signings, there’s a lot of potential to grow into regular high-level Premier League performers, and Carlos adds to that group. He obviously has a good pedigree, coming through at Manchester City and playing some games at Ajax. He has real pace, can go outside or cut inside, and can play on both sides of the pitch.

I got my first look at him in training this morning. We didn’t do much, but I saw enough to understand what he can bring to us. So yeah, I’m really excited. He gives us pace and that dynamic 1v1 ability on the outside that we’ve been missing. We had Pedro last season, but he missed a lot of it. We hope Carlos can provide more of that.

Sam Johnstone came in straight away against Nottingham Forest. What do you think of his addition so far, and what has he brought to the group?

We thought it was important to improve that part of the squad. The goalkeeper position needed more competition, and it has definitely provided that. You can see there’s been an uplift in certain players. It’s been good for the group.

Jose Sa wasn’t involved against Nottingham Forest. How has he been since? The Turkey window is still open. Do you expect Jose Sa to be here?

Yeah, I’m sure Jose will be here. He’ll fight with Sam for that spot. Both are excellent goalkeepers. You know how many big saves Jose has made for us over the last few years and what he’s capable of.

He has the opportunity to fight for his place, just like any other position. I know the goalkeeper role feels different, but it’s important that every player knows there’s someone ready to take their spot if they lose form or focus. Dan was already pushing Jose, but Sam adds to that competition. I expect Jose to stay and fight Sam, Dan, and Kingy for the goalkeeper’s shirt.

How do you assess where the squad stands now?

I think most of the substitutions I’ve made have been like for like, so there have been no drastic shape changes, and we’ve made quite a few substitutions already. I want us to be a team that can be aggressive with our substitutions and not wait until late. If it’s not working after 50-55 minutes, the lads understand there’s nothing personal in coming off or not going on. It’s always about what’s best for the team, and I want us to do that.

How excited are you about the first international break? You mentioned that tough run of fixtures starting with Newcastle. Eddie Howe is someone you know very well. What are you expecting from them at the weekend? It started at Arsenal and continues against Newcastle.

I know Eddie well. He’s done an excellent job there. They have plenty of quality attacking players, midfielders, even defenders. I know they’ve had a couple of injury issues, but signing Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer is a really good move. I thought he was excellent at Bournemouth. They’re going to be a big test.

Isak is one of the best number nines in the league for me. They are a team that will test us, definitely. We played them twice last season and did well in both fixtures. I know we lost comfortably in the away game, but that didn’t tell the full story, especially given where we were at that time.

I’m looking forward to getting back to Molineux, working with this group until at least January, and seeing if we can upset a few teams like we managed to last season. A lot of our results last year were unexpected, and we’ll need some of that again this season. I’m really looking forward to the challenge. Eddie and his staff have had an incredible couple of years, and I’m sure they’ll continue that. It will be a good test, but one we’re looking forward to.

Do you still have the contact you did previously, or has that faded?

Eddie and his team have come from the bottom of League Two to compete in the Champions League last season. That’s an incredible journey. You don’t achieve that without hard work and intelligence.

Eddie is a really good manager. We don’t bounce ideas off each other at all. We’re probably both too private and proud for that. We have our own ways of doing things and are confident in what we do and want to achieve. But I have real respect for what he’s done and what he’ll continue to do until he decides management isn’t for him.

There’s real excitement for you and your coaching team with the squad you have now. You can work with them until at least January, and though you’ve lost some big players, there’s a sense that this team will do something special this season. Is that right?

Yeah, I’m always excited to work with my group. Once the window closes, it was the same last season.

I know we lost Mateus Nunes late. The transfer window is now about Wolves, not the days when big names like Neves, Mateus Cunha, and Mario arrived for hefty fees. It’s different now. The excitement for me is knowing exactly where we are and what we have. We have opportunities to challenge expectations this season, just like I have done since starting at Bournemouth and with Wolves last year.

I know there’s enough in this group that if we push and drive them, we can achieve good results and stay competitive this year.

You’ve mentioned the word upset quite a bit. Is that the feeling in the dressing room as well? Can you approach matches where you’re not expected to win and play with freedom?

I always try to give them enough freedom in games, no matter who we’re up against. We approach every game knowing that if we execute our game plan, we have a chance to win, regardless of the opponent.

Right now, we know we’ll face many teams expected to finish high up the league. That feeling is around the place at the moment. Not many outside expect us to take many points in our next fixtures, including the few we’ve just played. That’s not our expectation. Our aim is to give everything, show we have good players and depth, and see what we can achieve.

As I said, I really enjoy this part of the season. It fully kicks off for me when the window closes, and we know exactly where everyone stands. We’re at that point now and looking forward to getting started.

Is the squad more settled now that the transfer window is shut?

It was okay anyway, but it draws a line under everything, so everyone knows exactly where they stand for the next three to four months. The aim is to get into this team and help it succeed over the coming months.

How has Jose Sa responded to proper competition in the squad? He hasn’t had that since he came in. How has he handled it?

He’s trained really well. He was away with Portugal for a significant part of the international break, but since he’s been back, he’s trained well. He did well again this morning.

With many games coming up, he knows he could be needed at any moment. He understands that the shirt isn’t just handed to Sam. Whoever wears that shirt at the weekend needs to earn it. Let’s see how that goes, but he’s given himself the best chance at the moment.