VITOR PEREIRA PRESS CONFERENCE: WOLVES V FULHAM

Nothing special today, eh? No. Good weather?

Oh, shit., When I write something, after I come here without glasses, I cannot see anything. 

Good afternoon. Just with team news ahead of Fulham, just to check on a few players, like Hwang, Agbadou, Rodrigo, how are they?

They are working to recover, but they are out of the game. Agbadou, Rodrigo and maybe Guedes.

Guedes, is that still the injury you mentioned at the weekend? And how long do you think…

I don’t know. I think he went in the morning for an MRI. We’ll see.
I think he has pain in the knee. Difficult. Difficult to recover for the game.

Fair enough. Just reflecting on the big win at the weekend, how significant does that win feel now, especially when you consider Leicester and Ipswich both lost as well?

It was good, it was good.
But the most important is the next one. And the next one is against Fulham. Very important for us.

Very important for us. I expect our best version tomorrow.

Talking about Fulham, where do you want to see the biggest improvements for your side? I know you’re coming off a win, but where do you want to see your side improve against Fulham? 

We can improve a lot of things. Scoring goals, where we get opportunities, defending well, because it’s important.
This is a very good team, with a very good coach. Working together for the last, I think, three years means that they are consistent. They are consistent.

Very good players. But we must focus on ourselves and compete tomorrow to get the three points.

You mentioned their coach.
I just wanted to ask you about Marcus Silva. I think you faced him ten years ago when he was at Estoril and you were at Porto. I think four times.
What do you remember about him back then? Are you surprised to see how well he’s done in the Premier League from a young age when he first arrived to now?

At that time, I was the coach of Porto. I think he started his career at Estoril. I think he was the director before and after he started his career.

But at that time, we realised that he is a talented coach. And he proved with his career in England, especially here and also in Portugal, that he has quality. He likes to put the teams playing good football.
And this is something that I like too.

I just wanted to ask you about one of your players, Andre, in your midfield since you’ve arrived. It feels like his performances have really improved in that midfield.
Do you feel he’s been a bit of an unsung hero in terms of being one of your best players consistently over time?

You know, Andre is important for us because he keeps the balance of the team. He needs to be aware when we have the ball, to be organised, and to be balanced in the moment that we lose the ball. He connects the sectors, switches play, and is intelligent in that position. And that’s what I’m asking him to do.

Hi Vitor. Sticking with individuals, someone we talk about week in, week out, is Matheus Cunha on the scoresheet again.
He still came out after the full-time whistle and said there are still things he can do. There are still so many things he can improve on. What are those things for you in a player who scores often and has been brilliant for you?

He’s a special player because he has the skills to decide in the pass, in the last pass, in the finishing.
He has the quality to have the ball, to create something, to improve. I think he has to improve a bit. Every time, the moment we are defending, he can improve.
But he’s someone who is committed to the team. We’ll see, we’ll see. I hope tomorrow he can do magic again.

Absolutely, fingers crossed for you. Strand Larsen is back in the fold. Does that give you a selection headache tomorrow, or is it a case of if it isn’t broke, let’s fix it?

This is a good headache. Hopefully, I have a lot of headaches like that. Larsen is better now, of course.
He played 45 minutes. He’s recovering his fitness. But I think now he’s in a position to help the team.

Take out another trip to Bournemouth in the cup and you look at a really important run of fixtures coming up. You’ve got Southampton, West Ham, Ipswich. You’ve got back-to-back home games in the league.
How crucial could this run be for you?

I cannot think about this… I just focus on Fulham. If not, I block my mind and cannot… I need to put all my energy into this next game because it’s very important for us. Because a win, if we get the three points, will be fantastic to start to look up, not down.

You understand? This is a bit like this, to have more tranquillity to play at our best level.

Just finally from me on tomorrow’s game against Fulham. Do you expect a reaction from them after their defeat at the weekend?

They are a team that we must… To face them, we must be at our best level for sure because they have very good players and they are a team.
They are a team. You understand?

Okay. When you came in, you talked about needing more physicality, but you also talked about wanting to see more leaders in the team.
Can we say that you’ve found them now?

Of course, of course, of course. I feel that I don’t need a coach. If we have leaders in the team, we don’t need to be in the scene all the time.
You understand? I like to give my players a lot of confidence and organisation among themselves to solve problems. When the problem comes to me, it means they didn’t solve it. But if you have leaders, it’s easier to command.
It’s easier for me. My leadership is easier. And we have this kind of player in our team. That suggests they’ve found the confidence to solve those problems on the field because problems happen in-game. Of course. You might not foresee them.
On the field and off the field. When we have a true team, they know how to face the problems inside the pitch. Because a lot of times, it’s a matter of seconds, and they need to decide for themselves.
They need to play without a coach. Without a coach. You understand? Because I don’t like to command the team.
The team has to be intelligent about how to manage the pace of the game. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow down. Sometimes… And this is maturity.
This is maturity.

And the leaders who’ve emerged, have they been who you expected them to be? Or have you seen players grow and take on more responsibilities?

To be honest, I need time. I’m a person who thinks outside the box.
I put myself outside the box to see what happens. It takes time to understand the leaders. But in the end, we will find them.
Okay?

Thank you. Hi Vitor. Defensively, it’s been pretty clean sheets in the last four. I just want to ask, have you seen a difference in attitude and confidence in that defensive line since you’ve walked through the door? Because you are a lot more defensively sound, aren’t you?

It’s not just the defensive line; it’s the block, it’s the team. If we start to know the moments to press, and if we press together, it’s possible to be compact every time. Because, you know, if we start with individual pressing, we won’t be effective.
In this moment, what we are trying to do is to compact them, to give them the guidance to understand the moments to press and the moments to control the space, the moments to slide and cover the sides, and how to control crosses into the box. These are the things that… how to control counter-attacks, how to be balanced when we have the ball.
Because we have the ball. This is a very important moment because we need to be ready to react when we lose it. And this is the work we are doing with the team. OK, thank you.