Following the loss to Manchester City a fortnight ago, the former Atletico Madrid man joined his new teammates in training at Compton Park, which has lifted the group, according to his head coach. Now, the aim for the whole team is to get points on the board in the Premier League, which returns with a trip to West Ham United on Saturday evening, and Lage is confident his side is in a good position to put in a positive display in the capital.
On being ready to go again
“Very good. Good energy. It was good to have these weeks for training and one of the things that came with energy was Diego. All the team, when we are training and can see we have Sasa and Raul injured, a striker training with the team, you can see the good vibes and good energy.
“It was very good. He was working with us three weeks, he didn’t work the first week with the team, but after Man City he started training with the team and gave a lot of energy. We are a different team when we have a striker in front of us.
“It’s not just the value of player, he is an important player, but also what other players can give more when we have a striker in front of us. We know that we lost 3-0 against a good team, but we had good moments in the game, even with ten men. The belief and energy comes from that, and the way we’ve trained.”
Two super strikes in training.
— Wolves (@Wolves) September 30, 2022
💥🎯 pic.twitter.com/PYLBGo5c6z
On the impact of Costa
“He spent a long time without playing, a long time without training, and the rhythm of the Premier League is at a different level. What I watch, in the periods of training with the team, sometimes you need to protect him a little bit, but the moments he was with the team, he trained very well. We want competition in the team, and different profiles.
“If Raul is fit, they can play at the same time. That’s the most important thing, to change the identity we want. What I want, and I work hard every day to get, is to make this team create more chances and score more goals. Also important is the strikers in the Premier League to be available, in the squad, to score goals.”
On turning things around
“I believe from the feelings we have from the games, from watching the team grow up in training, that the next eight games before the break for the World Cup, we’re going to be in the middle of the table. I don’t have doubts, because the signals are there in the games, the good energy and vibes in training, and also strikers and goals help the team to arrive in that position.
“When I came, I came with the condition that I want to be on the bench and see my team play with the ball. When we don’t have the ball, we need a strong reaction, when we don’t have the ball, we need to press and recover the ball, when we have the ball, we need to be aggressive to score goals, that’s my vision.
“At Benfica we scored a lot of goals. I came here with that idea to change a little bit the way we want to play. We are working hard in that direction. Last season we had good moments, good games when we were there. We can see a little bit unlucky with Sasa, problems with Raul since pre-season, and in the end you can see we are a different team with a striker.”
On a big game this weekend
“We cannot deny it’s an important game for us and we go there to play our game. We go there with a big ambition. We played two games against West Ham, two good games, and we go there to do our best and win the game.”
On recent form
“This is life. We have good records, we have bad records, I cannot forget that the last seven games of last season, we just had two points, it’s not an excuse, but we didn’t have five or six important players with us. There are some problems, it’s not just the manager’s problem, but a club problem. Even now, one striker, it’s not just my problem, but a club problem. We, and I have plenty of confidence in my work, will try to find the best solutions to get strikers available to play, to score goals, to win games, and to put the team in the middle of table in November.”
