Gary O’Neil has praised the efforts of his Wolves players during his first two days at the club and believes the talented squad at his disposal will be able to produce positive results in the Premier League this season.
Despite having little time to prepare the team for Monday’s league opener against Manchester United at Old Trafford, the head coach has been using his time to get to know his squad as people as well as players, as he gets to work on the training pitches at Compton Park in turning his vision for the group into a reality.
On first two days at Wolves
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with people here around what it looked like before, but I’ve got a really clear vision about what I can do in taking the club forward.
“I understand what they’ve done in pre-season, where they are physically and what they’ve been working on, what the game plan can look like without pushing them physically past what they’ve been doing.
“It’s been similar with the last two days in training, making sure the loads are what they are used to and not what I’m used to delivering, and in time, we merge those two things together to get it as close as I want it to be.
“The analysts, physios and fitness staff have been really good and Matt Hobbs made me feel really welcome, this helped the last two days run as smoothly as they could.”
On putting the players to work
“I can’t talk for the players, but I enjoyed it! I enjoyed today’s session and they’ve worked really hard again. The focus was around us at the moment.
“We’re going to have Man United coming up and we’re going to do some real work on them in the next couple of days, but I felt it was important I got into the lads for the first two days about what I expect us to look like.
“Two days isn’t very long, but we’ve got some work done and they’ve given absolutely everything so far. They worked their socks off yesterday and it was another tough session today and then we’ll start to taper down and get ready for finishing how we play, how we arrive there, what numbers we arrive with – all very important and stuff that we’ve started to put to work already, and I hope to see some of it on Monday.”
On getting to know his squad
“You learn every day around that. Yesterday was a session that helps me understand the personalities and where the group are. You see some habits and behaviours in sessions like we delivered yesterday, so it was an interesting one.
“But you get an idea, you get a snapshot, but it takes time, as in any part of life, the longer you know someone the more you know about them.
“They’ve been really good guys and I’ve no complaints at all because they’ve been giving their absolute everything in training together, in the gym together and after training together – they’re a really good group, so we go to Manchester United together and we will give everything together.”
On incomings and outgoings
“A lot has been made of our situation outside and we’ve been really clear on where it is, but I can never say never. Things move fast and happen quickly, but it’s a real focus for me on what we have here. We have some incredible players, a real good group and a group that is together, which is really important.
“We have a big game on Monday and one that comes very quickly again to focus on, so 100 per cent of my focus is on the players we have in the building and trying to get the best out of them.
“As it stands at the moment, everyone’s ready, everyone’s available and everyone is ready to work hard as a group.
“I signed up for the job two days ago with this group. It’s a fantastic group with real good quality in it. What I’ve seen so far, they’re committed together, and I really like the group, and think we have a good chance of doing something this year.”
On creating an identity
“There’s talent in the group, so I want to be dominant, I want us to have control with the ball when we can, I want to be able to attack fast, and I’ve spoken to the boys a lot about this already. If it’s on to press, I want us to be aggressive and press, if we need to sit in and be patient for a spell then we can do that.
“But it’s really important I improve the group’s understanding of all understanding of a football match, not one-size-fits-all for me. It’s not like we’re going to be a counter-attacking team – I don’t see the game like that. We have to be able to adapt to situations, be able to adapt to the opposition, but also have a clear identity, which we will.
“There are things that will be similar to what I did last year which will help for sure, but it’s not just a case of bringing what I did with Bournemouth into Wolves. I’m very adaptable in what I think we should be, but I have a very clear vision of what I think this group can be.
“We started work on it yesterday and we’re two days in so far and I’m pleased with the progress, but there’s a lot of work to do.”
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