VITOR PEREIRA’S PRESS CONFERENCE: WOLVES V EVERTON

Good afternoon. If we could start with Matheus Cunha, who’s been charged by the FA this week for acting in an improper manner in that game against Bournemouth. Are you therefore expecting to be without him for a bit more than three games now?

I’m not expecting; I’m not creating expectations because I don’t control the decision. But of course, he admitted his mistake.

He has a good personality; he’s a good lad. In difficult moments, and during his tough times, the damage affects him first, then the team, the club, and the supporters. But he has given us a lot so far.

This is the moment to support him.

What sort of conversations have you had with him this week?

This conversation, this conversation. He has given us a lot; he had a bad moment. Of course, it was a mistake. He needs to learn from mistakes. But now, as a coach, as a team, as a club, we need to support him and help him become stronger.

As a Premier League club, you have many facilities available to you. Do you think it would benefit him to speak to a psychologist or someone like that to help prevent these little flashpoints where he seems to get so wound up?

I don’t know. Maybe, maybe. I don’t know. But he has a strong personality. Of course, I think all of us have bad times in life.

This is a time to learn from experience, not to repeat it. But we must move forward because the future doesn’t stay in the past. This is the moment to try to help him.

I believe he will become stronger. As a coach, you’ve spoken already this season about how you feel he has the ability to play for pretty much any club. But when you’re looking at signing players, is that something you consider, whether players can control their temper in games?

Of course, of course. This is important.

This is important because a top player isn’t just someone with top skills. He has this strong personality. He may have felt frustration because, in the game, he felt something in his hamstring. Perhaps he was frustrated that he couldn’t help the team more. I told him to stay there, not to move too much or defend, and to try to go until the penalties because I believed we would have penalties and he could decide.

But in the end, as I said, we must admit the mistake; that’s the first thing, and then move forward. I will try to help him because he has a strong mentality. He has the mentality of a top player but needs to correct this impulse during moments when he should maintain his emotional balance.

I guess the frustration is the man. Will we talk about the game or just about Cunha?

No, no, Three questions about Cunha; that’s enough for me.

Yeah, that’s enough for me as well. You know why? Because now I have a team, a strong team. I need to help my team. I need to speak about my players, about the players who can help. This is the time to speak about the team, and that was my plan as well.

It feels as though this is a critical point in your period. The manner of the games you’ve got coming up. The next four fixtures could go a long way to deciding your safety in the Premier League. Do you feel that?

I feel, yes. I know that this is the moment. This is a very important moment of the season, and this is the moment to show.

This is the moment for the team. I don’t believe in a team that is built around one player. I don’t believe in that kind of thing. This is not football for me. Of course, a player can help a lot. The individual qualities can help a lot, for sure.

Because if you take the best players, the best players in Liverpool, for sure they will not be the same team. But I believe that the most important thing in this sport is the team. It’s the team. It’s the way that the team reacts. The way the team shows personality and hunger to win. This is the moment to show this, to prove to ourselves that we are strong as a team.

Do you feel you have a point tally in mind that will be enough to keep you in the Premier League?

Of course. Of course. Of course. With all thoughts, I’m very positive. Very, very positive.

What sort of tally do you think would be enough?

About the numbers, I don’t know. But I thought you asked me if I feel that my team has the quality to keep the club in the Premier League. Of course. I’m sure of that. 

Thank you very much. Hi, Vitor. Hi. Can I start with team news, please? How is the squad looking for this weekend?

Very positive because Agbadou is ready to help us. Munetsi has a problem from the last game, but he is ready to help the team. Guedes is ready to help the team. Rodrigo is ready to help the team. It means that Bellegarde had something in the last game, but he is ready to help the team. So, I’m very, very happy and positive for this game.

Is Emmanuel Agbadou ready to start?

We don’t know. We don’t know. We’ll see. We have the last training today. He’s working with the team, and I must decide.

We’re talking a few days after your team had a penalty shootout. Wolves haven’t been given a penalty in the Premier League this season.

It’s our fault. It’s our problem. We must force one against one inside the box.

Have you been practising? Do you have a fixed penalty taker in mind?

No, you know why? Because maybe when we are in training, they fall down in a fake moment.

For me, that’s not football. I want speed in the game, intensity in the game, and in training. Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe it’s my fault. I need to do a theatre course. Maybe I can do something to push them to go. I’m joking, but I think it’s about individual skills. Maybe next season we need to think about players who can handle one-on-one situations. I think we have one or two with that profile, but in the end, it’s our fault.

If you get a penalty on Saturday, who’s taking it? Who?

I will decide. Don’t worry, I will decide.

Cunha will not be in the game. That means it will not be Cunha, but I will decide.

Everton is obviously a big club. And a club you nearly joined a couple of times, nearly brought you to England. So is it a club you know quite a lot about, their history, the fans, and things like that?

Of course, of course. They are doing fantastic work in the last months. But as I said before, my focus is my team.

My focus is my team because it’s the only thing I can control. We will face them; they are a good team. That’s why they are competing with every team in their recent games. They compete a lot. It’s a team with a style of play that we can see Everton using. We need to play our game, face them, and correct some behaviours from the last games. Some behaviours we lost, and we need to recover as soon as possible. To be ourselves, to be Wolves, to play as Wolves.

How much have you enjoyed the support, the atmosphere you’ve generated in this?

This is a moment we feel is a critical but important point in the season.

We must make our supporters proud, and they must show what the spirit of a wolf is. We must show it on the pitch, and they must show it as well. We need to be connected, to feel the energy, and to play. We need to play because I believe we cannot only fight. We need to play because it’s football. But it will be a battle, and I want to see my team with character, showing the character of a wolf.

Did you see that character at Bournemouth last week? Because your players were under pressure for a lot of the game, but they concentrated and fought very hard, didn’t they?

They defended well. But I’ll tell you what I told you before. We had many physical problems in that game. It was a game where everything happened. Sure. Everything happened. Because Doc had a problem. Munetsi had a problem. Bellegarde had a problem. Cunha had a problem. Larsen was not ready to play extra time. He was ready to play 70 minutes. That was the plan. But in the end, more. 

A lot of decisions in a short time. Facing a team with a game style difficult to control. Playing at home. And I think with three or four players less on the pitch because they weren’t fit to be themselves, we went into penalties. Penalties, it’s okay. Almost. But in the end, okay. They deserve it. They deserve it.

Because if we look at the football we played, it was very difficult for us in this game. We must admit that it was not a day without many problems.

But with all that going on, your players still fought really hard.

Of course. That’s why I’m very confident for the future, with Cunha or without Cunha. You understand? Because I know my players. I know their personalities. I know their soul. I know they will give a strong response in this game. For sure, especially with the players you just mentioned who are now fit again.

The range of forward players you’ve got, obviously you don’t have Matheus, but you have a lot of different types of players. You’ve got Larsen and Hwang. You’ve got the quick wingers, Rodrigo. That gives you a lot of choice, doesn’t it?

Of course. That’s why I’m confident. That’s why I’m confident. Because now we have solutions. We have options. Of course, they came back from injury, so they are not at their best.

Because it’s impossible; they need to find their rhythm. They need to pick up the pace and the intensity of the game. But at this moment, we have more solutions. Right now, to make the list for the game, I need to think carefully before I have the list. I need to consider players from the new teams. Okay. Thank you.