Vitor Pereira said Tuesday’s win over Everton in the Carabao Cup could “change everything” for Wolves’ season.
The head coach tweaked his system and made nine changes to his line-up for the Carabao Cup tie and got the desired effect as Marshall Munetsi and Tolu Arokodare fired the Old Gold into the fourth round.
After a tough start to the Premier League campaign, the Carabao Cup has brought relief for Wolves, and Pereira now hopes that positivity and confidence he saw in his players can now be taken into the league.
On that winning feeling
“It was nice to see the players with confidence, playing good football, good pressure, controlling the game, character, team spirit. It means that, for me, we can do this because they have quality. The players have quality, and we can bring a team stronger and get points in the league.
“A good result can change everything. It can change the spirit of the team, change the atmosphere. I’ve missed it a lot, the smiles of my players and the supporters, and today I think we have reasons to smile.”
On changing his system
“I'm here not to please myself, but to find solutions, to try to put my players in comfortable positions, to feel comfortable, to play at their level. Today, I liked it. Sometimes we used to say that we need to change to get different things. Today, I think we did it.
“At this moment, we can use both formations. Of course, we just had one day to change. But the intention of the game is the same. You can change the system and I'm very happy for my players.”
On lifting the spirits
“It’s a different energy. If you feel the energy of the confidence, they can play at this level. Today might tell everyone on the pitch that they can play at a different level. They showed that they have the level of the Premier League, and we can compete with this kind of team.”
On Arokodare’s first goal
“When we are expecting a strong shot on the goal, because he has the confidence in himself. Of course, he is not in his shape physically speaking. Larsen today worked a lot for the team, and after Tolu went inside and he helped us. This is the spirit that I want to see.
“Tolu came in the moment that we didn't have Jorgen to play. The plan was not to play with him 90 minutes, the plan was to give him time to adapt and to start getting minutes. He needs to work hard to get his condition, and he will help us.”
