The Portuguese is up for managerial honour, likewise Ruben Neves for the player, while Joao Moutinho completes the trio after his stunner against Arsenal was put forward for the Goal of the Month award. The nominations came after an unbeaten February, however March began with defeat on Tuesday night, and Nuno now has his sights set on bouncing back at the first opportunity, in a game which he described as āspecialā ā Aston Villa away.
On February award nominations
āItās the reflection of fantastic work by the players during the month of February. We were able to react to not such a good moment and commit ourselves to good performances, so this shortlist is not me, itās us, we are on the shortlist for the month of February.
āRuben has been able to improve his performances because the team has improved also. All individual situations come after the evolution and progression of the team.ā
On coming up against Villa
āAston Villa have a very talented squad, many options, so weāre going to face a tough opponent. Itās always a big game, a derby is always a big game. Itās not the same [without fans], but derbies are always special for those involved.ā
A hat-trick of @premierleague nominations... ššš
ā Wolves (@Wolves) March 5, 2021
Enjoy Every Angle of Joao Moutinho's stunner against Arsenal!
š @manscaped
š³ Vote for Joao š https://t.co/AqqjKaVuhb pic.twitter.com/7ElgtlEJim
On bouncing back
āItās very important and is one of our goals, to bounce back, and to play good tomorrow. We know itās going to be tough, itās a derby, itās a special game for everyone, and we want to compete.
āReacting to a defeat, the best way is the next game and hopefully weāll do it tomorrow. The target is tomorrow and then after tomorrow, we donāt change our approach, itās game by game.ā
On taking positives from the City game
āWhen you donāt achieve what you want in the game, there is always a frustration on it. At the same time, many positives with the way we competed, the team was in the game, the team was competing.
āThere were moments when City were better than us, there were moments when we were able to control on the front foot. When you donāt achieve what you want from the game, no matter who you face, youāre always frustrated.ā
On Traoreās form
āI think heās progressing because you can see Adama has been able to cover more positions in the pitch. Itās a very difficult challenge for someone that has been under routine for so many years, playing on the right side, all the movements and one versus ones were based on that.
āNow heās been able to change sides, creating an impact, he played as a wing-back, as a striker, so a lot of things Adama has improved on.
āAdama is unique, the moment he and teammates realise how good Adama can be, I hope Iāll be here to see it, because heās very special. Itās his personality, his character, his heart, heās a very nice boy and a good human being.ā
On having versatile players
āWe will try to challenge them every day because we recognise the talent, the possibilities of becoming versatile, and I believe inside our own idea, having many versatile players allows you to not change after game, but try to make the step of changing during the game.
āThat will create a big impact on our performances, and weāll try to achieve that. We have the player, they are committed to it, so working together can be positive.ā