Cesar Peixoto enjoyed his first competitive Molineux win and hopes it now breeds confidence for the future.
The Old Gold progressed in the Carabao Cup at the expense of Port Vale on Friday evening, having scored three first half goals, which saw Peixoto and his players build on a positive pre-season.
The head coach, although he admitted there is still plenty to improve, now wants his players to bottle the winning feeling and ensure momentum is now building towards the start of the Championship season.
On a win on night one
“I liked the mentality the players showed. I liked that we scored three goals and kept another clean sheet. But there is still a lot to improve. It’s important that we analyse the game and identify the things we need to work on because, at this stage of the season, it’s normal to make some mistakes. We want to keep improving.
“There is still a lot to improve, though. Not everything is where we want it to be at the moment, which is normal at this stage of the season. We have to analyse the game, work on it during the week and keep improving.
“In the first 20 minutes we allowed Port Vale a few opportunities, which is normal because they have quality, but we want to improve those aspects of our game. Overall, I’m happy because it was our first victory in front of our home supporters. That’s important because it gives confidence to us and confidence to the fans as well.”
On well worked set pieces
“We worked during the week. We spent time preparing certain movements and attacking patterns, and today the players understood the right moments and the right spaces to attack the ball. We analysed the opposition and tried to put those ideas into practice, and we saw a lot of positive things. Those moments are important for us.”
On continuing to push second half
“I told the players that even at 3-0 I wanted them to go for a fourth and a fifth. I always want the team to be better and better. In the second half we managed the game because we were leading comfortably, but I still wanted the players to attack the box, try to score more goals and play with our identity.
“Congratulations to the players because they worked very hard and produced a very good performance. Now we have to keep working hard to take the team to an even higher level.”
On Jimenez’s welcome
“I liked the crowd, the atmosphere and the noise. The stadium is amazing. Raul is an idol for the fans, so that reaction is normal. He is important for us because he improves the level of the team with his quality and experience.
“Today it was important to give him more minutes because he needs them. But, for me, the team is always above any individual. That’s very clear. Raul is an important player for us, but the team comes first.”
Into Round Two of the @Carabao_Cup 👊 pic.twitter.com/FI60pRL7SY
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On being in a good place
“At this stage of the season it’s normal that there are still a lot of things to improve. Every team has areas they need to work on. I think we’re at a good level, but there are still things that will happen over the coming weeks because we need to bring in more players to give us more solutions.
“The players are working very hard. They are organised, they play with passion and they have quality. I think we’re in a good position to start the season, but there is still a lot of hard work ahead.”
