Gary O’Neil is looking forward to seeing his Wolves side test themselves against Everton this weekend following a successful week on the training pitches where he further implemented his ideas on the squad.
Although both Wolves and Everton arrive at Goodison Park on Saturday looking for their first points of the new Premier League season, the head coach believes plenty of positives can be taken from the Old Gold’s outings so far this campaign, while also acknowledging his players have put plenty of work into correcting the parts of their game which have been lacking in the opening matches.
However, Wolves’ task has been made more difficult as the team will be taking on the Toffees without midfielder Matheus Nunes after his late sending off against Brighton last weekend, and O’Neil has also confirmed the club rejected a transfer bid for the Portuguese this week.
On Nunes’ current situation
“He’s obviously suspended this weekend and Matheus is very disappointed that he’s missing because I know he wants to help the team.
“He’s an important player for us who has four or five years left on his contract, but we rejected a bid because we didn’t feel it met our valuation of what Matheus is worth to us.
“I don’t know the details of the bid and where it’s at, but all I know is that our valuation of Matheus wasn’t met. I’m head coach. I coach the team and the players who are available, and Matheus isn’t available this weekend.”
On the transfer window closing in seven days
“I see the group being as it is. I’m not just talking about the Matheus Nunes situation, but with a deadline in place, you want things to be done soon if things are going to be done. But there’s a lot of parties involved in any transaction, so we’re not the only ones in control of when things get done. We’re in control of if they get done, and at the moment, it isn’t.
“I don’t think people leaving are the only way of people arriving. There are things going on and we’re hoping to add and make things a little bit stronger over the next week or so.
“We’re trying to be active in the market within our budget and within what suits the club, but it’s not dependant on others leaving.”
On Hee Chan Hwang’s impact off the bench
“He’s had a real good impact off the bench and when you come to a new club and you’re trying to get to know the group, you do your homework from outside and try to get to know people the best you can.
“But since I’ve arrived, the way he’s trained, his work ethic, his quality, his intelligence and his understanding of what we’re trying to do has had a big impact on the training sessions and when he’s come on as a sub. I expect him to play a big part this weekend and for the rest of the season.”
Matchday minus one 🐺 pic.twitter.com/fL4CA8kwmJ
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 25, 2023
On another week of working with his players
“The team’s not where I want it yet in terms of understanding-wise, structure-wise, and that’s to be expected because I only did about eight days with them before the Brighton game. One of them was a matchday, two of them were recovery days, and the first day was getting to know the players, so to expect the group to fully understand what I expect and represent my clear identity is unrealistic at that time.
“We’ve made big strides this week, but large parts of the Brighton game were positive; the commitment of the players, the chances we created, the xG. Brighton had some big chances and were clinical, we had some big chances and weren’t. The scoreline exaggerated the gulf between the teams because I didn’t really feel there was one on the day, but I can still see big reasons as to why we didn’t make last weekend a success.
“If I saw a team doing absolutely everything I asked for and everything I expect to see and we were losing 4-1, then it would be a real concern, but the fact there are obvious areas which we still need to improve and still need to work on mean the answers are in the group.
“There’s been more hard work this week and preparation for a very different game. They were two extreme games tactically with Manchester United and Brighton, and Everton will be very different to that again. It will be a very physical test and you need a mentality and a resolve around you and then you need to bring your own quality and show what you can do with the ball.
“We understand that it’s a results business and it’s two results that we can take stuff from, but we need to start adding points, so I’m looking forwards to tomorrow. We’ve already seen big improvements in training from last week to this, and it’s not because the lads aren’t trying, it just takes time.”
On facing the Toffees at Goodison Park
“It’s a tough place to go. Everton at home always have a good atmosphere there, they’re always very aggressive in front of their home fans and a direct team, a lot of long balls and balls into the box and a big set-play threat.
“But hopefully we can impose our style and our game on them, keep creating these big chances and I’m pretty sure if I give the team the right structures and we keep arriving in the right areas then the lads will start to do their bit on the end of it and start to take some chances.
“I don’t agree with the big game [rhetoric], ‘Everton vs Wolves’. I don’t believe it’s bigger than any other game we’ve played or the one that we’ll play the following week. We probably have about 34 games to go before you can start talking about some games being bigger than others.
“At this moment in time, we’re desperate to put our first win on the board and hopefully we can start taking our chances because we’ve created an unbelievable amount of opportunities so far. If we can start taking them, we can get a bit more control and structure and I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
