VITOR PEREIRA PRESS CONFERENCE: LIVERPOOL V WOLVES

Good afternoon, Vitor.
Two solid results for you against Aston Villa in the last 16 of the Champions League and a potential banana skin against Blackburn last weekend. Where do you think you are now regarding where you want your team to be?

I think we are better than when we started. I’m pleased with the work the players are doing.

I think the competition is higher at the moment. Of course, we can increase our level week by week, but I’m happy with the team.

We saw Martial Munetsi impress from the bench against Blackburn and Nasser Dijiga also in the squad.
How are they looking after their first full week with the squad?

Good players, good players. I think they add quality to the team.

Would you expect to see Munetsi making a bit more of an instant impact than Djiga, given that he’s a few years older and more experienced?

I think they each have the skills in their positions to help the team.
We have a good team, and they are team players. They are committed, focused on the work, and this is what we need—this kind of player.

Is Djiga someone you think may take a bit longer to settle in than Munetsi?

He’s working hard to be ready to help the team, like the other players. I’m very happy with the competition inside the team because this way we can increase our level.

A lot of opposition fans would have enjoyed seeing Liverpool concede a last-minute equaliser against Everton, but from your perspective, does that potentially make it more difficult this weekend that they may feel they have a point to prove?

I don’t know. My focus is on my team to increase our level. We must go there with our qualities, looking for our strengths.
Of course, we’ll face a strong team. I believe in a fantastic environment.

Arnie Slott spoke today and said he thought Cunha had the potential to play for a Champions League club, for a top-five team in the Premier League. Is there any frustration from your point of view after the speculation that surrounded him in January, and how you said that affected him?

I’m very happy for him because he’s a top player, and now he’s my player.
I will enjoy him playing for us, helping the team, being a team player with his qualities.

We’ve already seen a couple of statement results from you, beating Manchester United and drawing at Tottenham. Would this mean more than just the result if you can get one at Anfield, given the confidence it would give the team, the momentum, and what it might show to the other teams around you near the bottom of the table?

I’m just looking for my team. I respect every team, and Liverpool are one of the best in this league. But I must look for my players, and my players, to me, are the best players in this moment in the country. I understand this because they are my players.

Of course, a good result brings us confidence, and this is important at this moment. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Vitor.
Team news, any fresh injury concerns going into this weekend?

No.

That’s what we like to hear, very straightforward.

Agbadou, talking about your players, he’s in very impressive form since his arrival.
How pleased have you been with him?

I’m very happy with him because he’s a strong player. He’s helping us, and for us, it was a very good sign because he brings strength, speed, and confidence in the duels. I like to see how good he is with the ball.

He has the skills I like in a centre-back.

He’ll no doubt be part of a defensive unit that will be up against an array of talent this weekend. Mo Salah is probably one of those in great form this season.
Have you had to make any adjustments to your preparation, or how do you defend against that type of player?

We must defend the Liverpool team, not just Salah. We must defend them with our tools and our work. But I believe that we’ll play a good game for sure, fighting for a good result.

How do you deal with the pressures of the Premier League, and the resilience that you see and instil in your players?

Yes, if you look at my career, I’ve worked in clubs where pressure is something day by day. I need this pressure because without it, I cannot be myself.

This is what I’m looking for in the Premier League. I’m looking for the best teams, the best players, the best coaches, and fantastic supporters. This was my target before, and now I’m enjoying it.

I must enjoy it, and I’m enjoying it as well. For me, this is the main thing—to build something, to create something. And we are creating something in Wolverhampton.
I’m not thinking about going there to defend for 90 minutes to take a point from the game. I’m thinking of preparing the team to go there and play our way or to try to play our way with our tools, skills, and qualities. And to get the best possible result.

Thank you. Best of luck this week. 

If I can stick with the smiles, the team looks as though it’s enjoying itself a bit, especially in the last two games. Are you feeling that from them?

You know, I feel week by week. When we start to work, we have to convince them to play in a certain way, in a style, in a game model.

In the first weeks, they try to align with what the coach is asking. But after week, after week, after week, they start to enjoy it because they begin to play comfortably within the rules. It means that now they are enjoying it a bit more.

They don’t need to focus too much on the system. No, they need to enjoy and start playing because they know what we should do at each moment of the game. And I’m feeling that now they are in a position to compete.

Yes, you can see that. You told us Munetsi would be a physical presence. We saw that last week; he certainly is.
But he’s different in style from what you’ve got with the others, isn’t he?

We saw the runs he was making. Has that given you the different option you mentioned a few weeks ago?

Of course, of course. This is a transition midfielder who plays box to box.

He has the power to defend in our box and then, in a second, be in the other box. This is something we need in this team—to have more players appearing in the box. And we are improving a lot.

The way we attack the box, the way we defend. We need to have more moments to control the pace of the game. This is something we need to work on.

This is quite a difficult fixture, isn’t it? Because you’d expect, most people would expect, that Liverpool will have quite a lot of possession of the ball. So when you’ve got a game like that, how can your team control the pace? Is it just harder to do?

No, we need to have quality when we have the ball. It’s not about how long we have the ball.

It’s about the quality. It’s not the time I spend with my sons; it’s the quality of the time I spend with them.

A bit like this. I’m a poet. I’m in poet mode.