Julen Lopetegui takes over the reins on Monday and will be in the stands watching on Saturday, when Davis will demand the levels of commitment and battle which have become customary under him. Opportunities for youngsters have been another theme of the past month, and as attention turns to the World Cup after the weekend, Davis it hoping to sign off in style against the league leaders.
On the World Cup call ups
“I spoke briefly to them, congratulating the ones who’ve been called up and I spoke to Ruben about the ones who hadn’t, how they were and how they felt about it. I think some expected it maybe, and others were a little bit disappointed, so mixed views about it, but ultimately, they’ve got to get on with their careers and do better to get called up. Hopefully it drives them to do better.
“I was pleased Jose [Sa] was involved. He had a fantastic season last season and he’s made some terrific saves this season, so he’s more than done enough to be called up. We’re delighted that he’s representing the club at the World Cup.
“I haven’t spoken to Joao [Moutinho] about it, he was very focused on the stuff we were doing for Arsenal tomorrow. He’s very professional and knows that’s important to him. I’m sure he’ll reflect on not being selected and he will be disappointed with Ronaldo going at that age. The coach has to think about the balance of the squad, it’s important for any coach, so maybe that was part of the decision.
“Every club in the Premier League has a lot of internationals who will be involved in the World Cup, so we expect the approach and attitude to be as normal. I’m sure they’ll enjoy the game against Arsenal, I think everyone’s looking forward to it.”
On the Arsenal game
“Our approach is never different, it’s always to set up to win. Obviously, we know the qualities they’ve got, they’re an outstanding team this season. Nobody has really been able to stop them. It’s the final game, we’ll give everything we’ve got, we’ll work extremely hard which we have been doing the last few games and see where that takes us.
“We’ve got a plan and every team has those little things you think you can exploit and that’s what we’re looking to try to do.”
Eyes on our Arsenal preparations 👀 pic.twitter.com/WJAJApj2Zh
— Wolves (@Wolves) November 11, 2022
On reflecting on his time in charge
“I’ll look back on it as a really good experience. I never dreamed it would happen, if I’m honest as a kid. I’d like to think some legacies have been left, in terms of young players getting opportunities, opportunities for fans to see the talent we have in the academy that are ready in my opinion.
“Internally, the changes we’ve tried to make, the methods we’ve used in training to get more intensity for the players to work harder and play with that intensity in games. You can see that in performances, you can see that in the way they’ve changed the mindset, things we’ve wanted to change in a short space of time. I guess we have, but the only tinge of disappointment has been not being able to get enough points. The Brighton game, I thought we should have got something from that, and the Palace game – we played well in both games and came out with nothing.”
On giving young players opportunities
“The lads themselves are buzzing, they had their families there watching. As a young player, somebody sooner or later had to give you an opportunity. I got my opportunity from somebody. I was talking to Ruben who got his opportunity from Julen at 17. Somebody along the line has to give them a chance and you learn if they’re good enough. We felt, even though we weren’t getting the results, it wasn’t a risk.
“With Hugo playing at Palace, he was outstanding, and he’s kicked on since. It gives opportunities for fans to see the players that are playing in the 21s and don’t see a lot of. They’ve not looked out of place, they’ve deserved the opportunity, and I was delighted to get them their chances.”
