Head coach Gary O’Neil has placed added emphasis on his own team ahead of the visit of Burnley, given the quick turnaround since the Arsenal trip.
The Old Gold narrowly lost at the Emirates on Saturday and have less time to prepare for Tuesday’s clash, so O’Neil’s training has been more centred around his team and how they can hurt the Clarets. The head coach, who also provided an injury update on three members of his first-team, is expecting a tough challenge on the night and says performance levels must be at 100 per cent if a result is to come.
On injuries in the camp
“Sa did some training today, so we’ll do a last few checks on him tomorrow, but he felt fine, so we’re hopeful Jose will be fine. Rayan’s doing well. Tomorrow will be too early but hope to have him available at the weekend. Hopefully he can play a part against Nottingham Forest.
“Pedro’s still working his way up to speed, so not with us yet, but it is getting closer. He’s excited, he’s got a bounce in his step and smile on his face around training, so he’s getting closer.”
On every game being challenging
“The difference between the top and the rest is not as big as people think. If you’re five per cent down on your normal level, you’ll lose any Premier League game. The level’s extremely high, we know we have to be at our best, it can’t just be Manchester City come and we need to be at our best and that 95 per cent might get it some against the others – it definitely won’t.
“Burnley are a threat, you saw it at the weekend, scoring five goals in a Premier League game. Their forward players have some real good ability, so they’ll be a test and we need to ready. We need to be as prepared to deal with difficult moments and make the most of our moments. It will be no different on our part.”
On taking things from the Arsenal second half
“There were positives, it’ll be very different to that, obviously, but it’s a tough place to go, and when you’re 2-0 down early, to be able to rally and respond the way we did was pleasing. We didn’t take any points, which is the most important thing, so we go into tomorrow night knowing we need to take points.
“Burnley are a very good side, they’re newly promoted and have probably lost more games than they’ve deserved to. They’ve been impressive in large parts, they’re very well organised and have been together a long time now. The manager’s been there for two pre-seasons and a few transfer windows, you can see they have a real good understanding of what they’re trying to do in a very good way. People will think newly promoted, easier game, there are no easy games.
“Tomorrow there’ll be moments where we have to fight and scrap, it definitely won’t all go our way, so we need to be ready for both as always. Home games, I’ve enjoyed them so far, I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to seeing if we can add another positive result. There’s a real focus on us. There’s not a huge space of time between the two games, so focus on us and what we need to look like, and two big home games this week which we’re looking forward to.”
On disappointments at Arsenal
“We went with a game plan which was aggressive at times and kept numbers behind the ball at times, and it was disappointing to concede from one where we had big numbers around the ball, which is what we prepped for. Saka’s a good footballer and he can wriggle between two defenders and play a one-two, so that can happen, but this will be a very different test.
“There are different things we need to be focused on in this one. Not the same amount of time you usually have to prep, so not quite as much detail going into the boys around Burnley, but they have a good idea of what they might be. They use different shapes a lot, 4-2-4 against Sheffield United, which is quite a new one for them. Really difficult to predict exactly what Burnley will look like, so a real focus on us and making sure we take care of our own business and are ready to go.”
🎯 A fantastic @mathcunha20 finish. pic.twitter.com/b7mt5NaWiA
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 2, 2023
On working with the in-form Cunha
“He’s a good guy. He works very, very hard, bright always, always in a good mood, so he’s good for the place. He’s obviously extremely talented, as you’ve seen in moments in games where he manages to get his one versus ones and gets into dangerous areas, where he can cause teams problems.
“The majority of my work with him has been on harnessing that and trying to get into the right areas more and show what he is more. He’s made improvements in it and there’s still room for more. I’m still excited to see where we can get him to. He scored two goals last year and he’s on four already. His target should be to keep being involved in goals, goals and assists, make sure his numbers look good and the rest of his game is very good.”
