Gary O’Neil was pleased with the effort and determination showed by his Wolves players to set up an FA Cup fourth round tie with West Bromwich Albion but admits there’s still improvements to be made by his squad.
The head coach praised the way his players gave their all until the final moments of the extra-time victory over Brentford at Molineux as they fought tooth and nail to secure a Black Country derby in the next round, but felt his team made the win more difficult than it needed to be, after giving the Bees two goals from two of their only chances in the game.
On getting through to the fourth round
“We were the better side, but we gave Brentford some help with two terrible goals when they didn’t really come out of their half. They were defending very deep and we had real good control, but we tried to shoot ourselves in the front by giving away really sloppy goals. Then we lost our way a little bit and it started to look like a typical Brentford away performance.
“We’d lost our way and it was going to get a bit scrappy and they were going to have chances from set plays, but we stuck in and got there in the end. There were a lot of tired bodies in the end because the lads have put a lot in to the two ties to get us to this point and they deserve huge credit. From me and from the fans, I know they will be excited about the next round, but how hard and how much work the boys have put in to get us there with 10 men down at Brentford and to push for 120 minutes tonight with tired bodies and small numbers.
“It’s pleasing that we managed to get it done, but I’d have liked it to be a bit easier for us with the way we started the game we should have made it easier for ourselves, but it’s another good win, it’s another home game without a loss and we’re looking forward to the next round.”
"You can see the effort that went in from everybody. There was some tired bodies out there but everyone wanted to make sure we get a crack at the next round and now we do.”
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 17, 2024
🐺🗣️ pic.twitter.com/AuroJKtbEQ
On giving their all until the end
“The lads are in a really good spot with their togetherness and understanding with how we approach football matches. Even in the FA Cup, we’re still desperate to win, but I’d like some improvements.
“We shouldn’t have let Brentford score either the first goal or the second goal, because they were terrible goals to concede for us, but of course things happen in a football match and we have to respond which we did.
“Nathan Fraser with a big goal, coming off the bench, and at that point it looked like we were going to go on and win – the keeper makes a big save and then Nelson [Semedo] misses an open goal, so we were the better side for that part, but then we had to dig in, but dig in we did. We defended the goal well and the all-important thing was making sure we got through to the fourth round.”
On Fraser scoring his second senior goal
“It was a fantastic finish. It’s not easy when it’s on your right foot on that side, having to take it first time, and it was a really good finish. He’ll be really disappointed with the second one but I think it was a really good save, it was a tricky one and the keeper makes a good save, but he’d fancy himself to stick that away more often than not.
“He’s worked really hard and he’s not been fully fit for a long time and didn’t even train fully last week and missed a couple of days, but as everybody knows, we are short at the moment, especially with attacking players, with Channy [Hwang] being away, and he’s the next in line.
“We talk about using the 23s and we all understand the situation at the football club, we are where we are at this moment, and if the boys are training well and they’re doing enough to show me that they’re ready, I have no worries about using them. Tawanda [Chirewa] played in the first tie, Nathan’s played in the second and we’re going to need everybody because we are a small group at this moment.”
Molineux celebrations 💛 pic.twitter.com/6Bj29eXhbg
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 16, 2024
On Cunha’s condition
“He's just cramping in his hamstring, so I’ve been speaking to him a lot about bringing him off, because the Premier League is very important and we’ve got a game in four or five days and he was desperate to stay on and have another impact, and he was able to get the winning goal, so pleased we kept him on for a little longer.
“But it’s just the impact of having a small senior group, is that I have some tough decisions when the game is going on. Tonight, Pedro [Neto] probably played a bit longer than I would have wanted, Mario [Lemina] played longer than we wanted, Nelson looked exhausted, Cunha playing with cramp, and I knew how desperate the fans were for us to win today, but I’m desperate for us to have a squad available for the next one and the one after that.
“I’m sure the win will come at a bit of a cost with the lads where they are physically, but we have a few days to get them back down to decent level recovery wise and then prepare them again for a very tough game at Brighton.”
On facing an FA Cup Black Country derby
“I’ve played in a few derbies, not the Black Country one, but I’ve played in a few and they always feel extra special. We’ll have a few missing so won’t be going there full strength, so I assume West Brom will fancy their chances against us, at home, but I’m really looking forwards to it.
“We’re already going to be missing Joao [Gomes], Rayan [Ait-Nouri], Channy and Bouba [Traore], so it was really important everyone came through it [without suspension], and we’re all really looking forwards to it. We get to go and play against West Brom for the first time in a long time with a crowd there, so we’re looking forwards to it, but we’ve got a very important Premier League game first and I’m already focused on how to get the group to go again.
“I’ve been to the AMEX once or twice before and it’s a really good place to go because they’re a good side and their energy levels are really high. We’ve got some recovery to do over the next few days and then we’ll go to Brighton before getting ready for the game everyone around here’s going to be talking about.
“But you saw from the lads that there’s nothing but full throttle from us and everyone giving absolutely everything until they can’t give any more, so we’ll go there, try to win another game.”
