Julen Lopetegui has called on his players to revel in the important games ahead of his side during the home straight of the Premier League season, starting at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Spaniard spoke of the hard work his group put in following his arrival to be in a position to compete for Premier League survival, and now wants to see the right maturity and mentality to see the job through during the run-in. Wolves travel to the City ground on Saturday knowing the task ahead of them and Lopetegui believes the pressure of big football matches is a good thing his players should embrace.
On relishing the challenge
“Each match is a challenge to show your best. Of course, the demand is going to be high for both teams. Of course, they play at home, but we have to enjoy the moment and take advantage of this moment. To think it’s a pleasure to play these kinds of matches and be ready to do your best. Do your best and work hard for the team and after believe in yourself. I think in our profession, we are privileged to have the possibility to play these kind of matches, when you are fighting for important things.”
On the Premier League run in
“To feel a challenge, to have these kinds of matches, to feel this pressure, is a good thing for us because we were fighting very hard three months ago to have this possibility. From this moment to have this mentality is very important, in the same way show maturity, show we are happy to have this challenge in front of us, and be ready to play football. Resilience is a good strength for any player, any team. It’s about being ready to compete, to be ready to do your best.
“For me, the most important is the maturity, this mentality, more than important the tactics sometimes. There are a lot of teams involved in the race, so we have to put the focus on ourselves, in our team, in our strengths. All the opponents are fantastic teams, but above all we have to put the focus on us.”
