Gary O’Neil says returning from the international period is becoming easier thanks to his players’ growing understanding of how he wants Wolves to look.
In recent days, his players have returned from representing their countries and the head coach has additional time to prepare for Fulham, after it was moved to Monday evening. However, O’Neil says he can already see a growing understanding within his group after their return and is looking forward to a new batch of fixtures, which begins in London, against a pair of familiar face he has a lot of respect for in Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore.
On the international break
“We trained quite hard for a good few days. We had a training ground game, had a couple of days off with the family and then loads of prep on Fulham. Obviously, some extra time to make sure I’m well prepared for the next game. Recharged the batteries a little bit, tried to spend a couple of days not thinking about how Wolves beat Fulham, but it was still there and I still got a lot of good work done. I enjoyed the little break.
“The only person not back with the group yet is ‘Channy’ so hopeful he comes back and we get back to work. There’s a busy spell coming, a lot of games in December, some tough games coming, so we need the group to be ready to go again.”
On preparing for Fulham
“Most of them haven’t been here and have been playing in different systems [with their countries], so it’s reminders of what we’re trying to be, and then obviously how Fulham fits into that and how we can try and cause them some problems. They’re a good side, offer a real threat, the wide players, Willian, Harry Wilson or Bobby De Cordova-Reid, who I played with at Bristol City. Premier League away games are tough, we’ve won a couple so far and it’d be good to win another one.”
Back from international duty ⚡️
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On the players' understanding
“They’re much better at it. The starting point is definitely closer to where we want it to than obviously when we were preparing for Manchester United. We did some stuff and I was impressed with the understanding. Most of the performances have shown, at least in some of the games, they have an understanding, but you still want every moment on the grass with them to keep improving. You see things every day that you like to correct.
“After one of the breaks we played at 12.30pm on a Saturday and that was tough for the boys coming back from a long way away, so hopefully Monday night gives them a little bit longer to recover. Obviously, the knock on is we have less time to prepare for Arsenal, but let’s worry about Arsenal when we get to it.”
On celebrating goals recently
“The timing of them probably has been a big factor in the celebrations. Pablo’s goal felt that we’d secured a point that we definitely deserved, at least, then Mario almost certainly confirms that we’re going to get three. It was the way the lads had played in that game, they got what they deserved and to get that moment with the home fans I thought was important. Maybe more emotion running through me at that point than some other goals.
“Similar to Jean at Sheffield United, because I was disappointed that we didn’t make the most of what we were doing first half and disappointed with the second half, so the feeling of maybe escaping there with a positive result after the way the second half had gone.
“I just with how I feel at the time. The plan’s to always not celebrate because there’s a lot that can change afterwards, but sometimes the emotion gets the better of you, so I try and make sure I stay in my technical area as well.”
On facing Fulham without Mitrovic
“It’s tough transition, I would imagine, for them because he was a huge part of what they’ve done for such a long time. I played against that Fulham team as first-team coach at Bournemouth in the Championship and again last season in the Premier League, and he’s always been such a big part of what they’ve done.
“Obviously. they’ve replaced him, Vinicius came in a season or two ago, and Jimenez, who had a fantastic time here and is a really good player, is similar in how he can hold the ball up, is good in the air and is a goal threat. They seem to have found a similar way of doing things, but when you lose a guy who was scoring 60, 70 per cent of your goals, it’s obviously a big transition.”
On facing Jimenez and Adama
“The farewells are interesting because those two guys are still spoken about warmly around here, and the impact they had. The fact I’m here managing a Premier League team that has had the successes it had, they played a massive part in that.
“Sometimes the timing of things means you don’t get the farewell everybody would have liked, but it doesn’t change how everybody feels about those two and I know how the supporters feel about them as well. Two players who played a huge part in the club’s recent history, and huge respect for both of them, but hopefully they have a tough evening on Monday.”
