Gary O’Neil says if his group continue to fight the way they did against Liverpool on Saturday evening, results with follow.
Once again, the Old Gold gave a good account of themselves against Liverpool and were briefly level following Rayan Ait-Nouri’s first goal of the season. The loss meant Wolves remain on one point for the season but received a positive reception from supporters after the match, which the head coach believes shows there’s no need to panic.
On a positive display
“The lads gave everything, and we had a right go. We lost control and went off our game plan just after we scored, and got a little bit caught in the emotion of equalising and got badly punished, as we have been at the moment.
“Another game against top opposition, where we do our best to give the best version of us. Gutted for the lads, they deserve something for the efforts they put in over the last few weeks against some tough opposition. We haven't managed to get one to go our way yet, but there’s loads of stuff I absolutely love about the group. We keep going.”
On a group fighting
“There were a lot of good bits in there. We could maybe have been a bit more intelligent with our use of the ball towards the end. We made some bad decisions at the end, when we were chasing the game, and we just needed to get the ball wide and get the ball in the box.
“But that is a group, and as you can see by the reaction of the fans at the end, that is fighting it and giving everything, and can play some good stuff. Tough to take, of course, another loss which no one wants. But if we keep pushing and we keep performing, and we keep scrapping and giving everything like we are, we're going to cause some teams some problems this year.”
On staying together
“I can guarantee you that everyone inside that changing room, including myself, is giving absolutely everything and doing the best that they possibly can. That will always be the case. We lost two centre backs this week, one for a whole season and our experienced one. Toti has rushed back a week early and we've just gone toe to toe with Liverpool and didn't quite do enough.
“Disappointed that we couldn't give the fans a result to go with it, because they deserve a result with the way that they've stuck with the lads. I don't think you'll find many teams that are on one point from six games and get that sort of reception at the end. It shows the level of understanding from the supporters, the connection with the players and what they give and keep working and we're going to be just fine. We just need to find a way to get that first win on the board, and then we'll be able to push off.”
On Bueno’s injury
“Santi’s got something in his glute. I don't know what. We had to take Santi off. He was asking to come off. If we weren't losing and chasing maybe Alfie would have got his Premier League debut. But obviously Mario can play in the backline, and it gave us Tommy, who could maybe find some passes. Santi was injured, so let's hope that he's that he's OK because we don't need another injury in the back line at the moment.”
On the mental strength of the group
“The lads show that they're not a group that can't bounce back. At the start of every game. When we lost to Arsenal, we came here, and we went full throttle against Chelsea. Then we get ready again and we go full throttle, and we go full throttle against Newcastle, and we suffer a late defeat. We go to Aston Villa, and we go again.
“We arrive here today where everyone's talking about the bad run, and we're ready to go again. And that will always be the case. Everyone in this football club is doing absolutely everything they can, myself included. I'm really disappointed for the lads because they something to show for their efforts at this moment.”
