Having played 19 of their 38 games this campaign, and with just the top-flight for Julen Lopetegui’s men to now focus on, Wolves face Manchester City on the road this weekend, but thanks to the renewed mentality under the head coach and with Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina welcomed to the group, Toti is full of confidence that Wolves can push themselves away from the bottom of the Premier League table in the coming weeks.
On welcoming Sarabia and Lemina to the club
“I’ve not had too much time to talk to him [Sarabia], but I spoke to him at lunch and he’s a nice guy, a quiet guy, and it’s good to have players like him with experience having come from a big championship as well.
“It’s good to have these kinds of players to help us. The mentality he has, you can tell that he’s a guy who wants to work and to be successful, so it’s really good to have these kinds of players.
“Mario too is a nice guy and a great player. I remember watching him at Juventus when I was younger, and I wasn’t even playing football at the time. I haven’t told him that, but him and Diego Costa as well, I remember watching them both.”
On Man City’s recent dip in form
“This is the Premier League, and every game will be like this. Every team will experience this, and now it’s happening to City, before it was happening to other teams, but they will always be a dangerous team.
“Everybody knows the quality of City and the coach. Every player there is a top player.”
On dealing with Erling Haaland
“We will see in the match. I can’t explain it right now, but when it’s time for the game, we will see. We don’t have a specific plan, but of course we will do everything that we can to defend the team.
“Everything that I’m asked to do to stop him, I will do it. Everybody has been surprised with what he’s been doing and we’re only in the middle of the season but the amount of goals he’s scored until now has been amazing.”
On improving under Lopetegui
“We had a good time to prepare for everything. We went to Spain to do a little pre-season again with the players that were there at the time. A few of them were at the World Cup, but we still had a good group to work with the coach and his new ideas, working on the way he wanted us to play.
“Everything has been good, but one of the most important things was the mentality and we can see the environment and the changing room has changed. The way he wanted us to play, he wants us to battle and to fight for everything because in the situation we were in when he came, you need to face every game until the end.
“Every game will be like a battle, so we’ve been preparing everything until now like this. We’ve been showing that in the pitch, although the results didn’t come, you can see that since he’s come things have changed.”
Good afternoon, boss. 😅
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 19, 2023
❄️🎯 pic.twitter.com/KHdBrqqCxJ
On his relationship with the head coach
“He’s a good man. Sometimes he’s funny with us, but when we start to work he’s serious, of course. But he’s a really good person and he talks to you not just at training, but also out of the training. If you need anything, you can go to him and he will try to do everything to help the players.
“I’ve been feeling good, and since he came he’s given me the opportunity to play almost every match, even if it’s 10 or 15 minutes and I really appreciate that. Even if it’s 10 or 15 minutes, I will always give everything for the team, and I’m grateful for it.
“He talked with all the players and told us what he wanted us to do and how the project would be. We just do what we can for ourselves and for him as well.”
On marking his 24th birthday this week
“I didn’t celebrate because we had the game on Tuesday night, so I didn’t have the time to go out for a dinner or anything like that, but when we have a few days off I will celebrate then.”
