Vitor Pereira believes the confidence a Premier League win would provide could be huge for his Wolves players ahead of a trip to Sunderland this weekend.
The Old Gold were close to victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion, but conceded late on both occasions, leading the head coach and his players disappointed heading into the October international period.
However, two weeks on, and attention turns to a Stadium of Light trip, and since that Seagulls draw, Pereira has seen continued positives from his group in training, but knows the important thing is getting over the line with a victory.
On two weeks to sit on the Brighton result
“To be honest, I was frustrated because if we look at the last three games, we didn't lose them, we won in the cup, and we went to Tottenham and drew, and before the game one point is OK, but it was a small detail, but a big detail that decides two points.
“Against Brighton, we again faced a strong team, because last season they were better than us and we lost 2-0, but after the game it was another detail and we lost two points. If I look at the progress of the team, I'm realising that we are more competitive now, because we are very close to winning and we didn't lose.”
Back to work 💪 pic.twitter.com/AKTKeQ7Vir
— Wolves (@Wolves) October 16, 2025
On needing to kill games off
“Football is about attacking and defending. Before the goal of Brighton, they had a good chance to score and we had two good chances for 2-0. When we have the chance in this league, we need to score. The other one is to not concede goals. The team needs a win for confidence. Even me, at the end of the game, we start to think about it being a good chance for three points.
“In the moment that we lost our focus. In the previous match they [Brighton] did the same fast corner, but at the end of a game we were a bit tired, the concentration was not the same and we need to improve, to be focused until the last minute in the game. I know that I have good players, we have a good team, we just need to start to win the games, and I believe that working the way I see every day, the results will come for sure.”
On having leaders in the squad
“We are building this leadership. Now, I'm feeling that some of them are in conditions to lead, but we can train the leadership, and this is what we are trying to do in this moment. If every time in the training you are in the command of the team [as head coach], the leaders cannot speak and communicate with the others.
“Sometimes it’s important to go out of the box and to give them the space and the time and the conditions to be leaders, to start the communication between them, and this is something that we are doing.
“Each training session I feel that we are improving, we are more connected, we are improving the communication between the players, without me, without coaches, without command, because in the middle of a game it's difficult to have this command, they need to communicate between them inside and this is something that we are building now.”
On dealing with Sunderland’s threats
“Of course, we need to be prepared, because they are strong, especially playing at home. They are in a good moment, and we need to be at our best level. If we play against Sunderland, against Tottenham or Brighton, we need to go there to face these teams with our tools, with our work, with our idea, with our identity, playing football and competing with them in a good atmosphere. We need to go there and to prove that we are ready.”
On having the internationals fresh
“This is a problem for me and for every manager in the Premier League, I believe. If we have a lot of players with national teams, it means that we have quality in the squad, it means that we have quality.”
