Patricio | 'We know we can get to where we want to be'

Rui Patricio wants Wolves’ well-earned point against Chelsea on Wednesday night to be the building block for the team to progress during the second half of the season.

The goalkeeper and his defence put in an impressive performance at Stamford Bridge to secure their first Premier League clean sheet since October, and the Portugal number one hopes another positive result against Crystal Palace this weekend will continue to set Wolves in the right direction to achieve their aims.

On taking a point from Stamford Bridge

“I’m really happy about the result because one point is a good point in a difficult game against a Chelsea team who are one of the best in the league.

“We know we had a couple of opportunities in attack and we could’ve won, but it was still a very good game.

“Now my focus is on preparing for the game that we have on Saturday against Crystal Palace which will be another difficult one.”

On building the season on positive results

“I think so. At the start of the season, we suffered a lot of injuries which definitely affected the team spirit, but with the draw we had in the Chelsea game, it was really good for our confidence.

“Right now, we are going to work hard because we know how good we are as a team, but not only as a team, but as individuals. We know our worth and we know we can get up to where we want to be, in terms of points.

“I feel like the Chelsea game definitely helped us to improve and to organise ourselves. We were great defensively and we hope to continue being so and also hope that we can start scoring more so we can achieve our ambitions.”

On lack of clean sheets being a worry

“Of course. As a team, we always try not to concede any goals, but sometimes that’s not possible. It’s very important to keep a clean sheet, especially when you’re away from home. I think it helps with our confidence when we can overcome the difficulties that we have had recently as a team.

“We’ve had plenty of goals against us during the early part of this month and I was not very happy with my performances.

“But we always try to keep clean sheets and I’ve taken this as a learning curve, because I’ve not only learnt as a goalkeeper, but as a person and how to deal with poor performances. Now, it’s all about overcoming those negatives and turning them into positives.

“For the remainder of the season, I hope I can improve in the way I want to, and my end goal is to perform as best as I can.”

On injuries affecting defensive stability

“We’ve had a lot of injuries since the start of the season, not just in defence, but all throughout the squad, and these injuries do impact the entire team.

“Luckily, everyone is getting better and hopefully we can go through the second-half of the season without any more injuries, which will be very important for all of us.”

On overcoming a poor run of form

“In these difficult times, you get a lot of frustration, and it’s important to analyse how you feel and how you are enjoying every game and try not to let this stop you from reaching your goals.

“You need to understand why particular things happen and how you felt during the game and it’s very important to look at ourselves and how we can grow from that.

“In order to do so, we have to adapt a correct attitude towards the games we have going forward, and try to predict any possible scenarios and strategies that the other teams might have, so we can understand how to improve our performance.

“That does not only relate to football, but also our own personal lives, as we always aim to grow and we want to be better as people. Family is a huge example of this, because it’s very important to be at peace with yourself to grow, be better and get back on track.”

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