In his programme notes for the visit of Brentford, Julen Lopetegui spoke about building on last week’s victory, the tough task ahead of his team this afternoon and his support for One Pack Week, which begins today and runs until next Friday.
***
Good afternoon and welcome back to Molineux as we face what I believe to be one of our toughest opponents at home today against Brentford.
We arrive off a positive week following the win against Chelsea here at our home last weekend, and I want to highlight our happiness with the commitment and the effort of the players. That is the only way we can be if we want to achieve our aims.
As we achieved a clean sheet, we all came together this week as staff and players for a meal. It has been an important initiative because it gives us a moment to stay out of the training ground and enjoy a meal together. Everything I can do to create a good environment between the players is only a good thing, so I hope we will have more of these in the future, because we need more!
However, last weekend’s game has happened and is in the past, so all of our focus and energy is now on the next match here today against Brentford. We don’t have to be confident, we have to be ready, and I welcome Thomas Frank, his staff, players and supporters who have joined us.
Brentford are a very special team and they are a very strong team in all phases of the play, whether it’s with the ball or without the ball. They have good players who know how they want to play, and it’s going to be a very different match to the one we experienced against Chelsea.
For me, it’s going to be a lot more difficult, and we’re going to have to put the focus on the difficulties we’re going to have today, for the kind of team Brentford are and the kind of match we are going to face – and we have to be ready for them and what the match needs from our players.
Of course, we are going to need a lot of support from our fans this afternoon. I said last weekend how much of an impact our supporters can have, and we all definitely felt that at Molineux. But we’re going to need it more than ever today, and for the remainder of the season, because we are arriving in the vital moments and this kind of support in the bad moments, in the good moments and when the match is balanced is key for us.
We need this energy that you provide from the stands, so I encourage all the fans to support us as much as you can and create the best environment for our players to thrive.
This week, the club is also celebrating its annual ‘One Pack Week’, which highlights all the equality, diversity and inclusion work Wolves carries out to make everyone – whatever their background – feel part of the club.
Everything the club is involved in to help the people in our community from different backgrounds, whether that is supporting those of different races, genders, religions, sexualities or abilities, I welcome it all because everyone should feel welcome in football.
If we want to create a positive atmosphere between all the citizens of Wolverhampton and the team, then our fans need to feel supported by the club – not just that the club is demanding their support. Anything we can do as a football club to help our supporters from all backgrounds is a very good thing and we are very proud of the help that the club gives to its local citizens.
Support works both ways and I know all our fans understand the situation we are in and how much you can help us in achieving our aims. Please give us all your support once again this afternoon and enjoy the game,
Julen.
