Cesar Peixoto is fully confident his Wolves side can get back to winning ways at Molineux when Watford pay a visit to the Black Country this weekend.
Having seen his side lose to Bolton Wanderers and draw with Portsmouth in the last two home outings, Peixoto understands why the atmosphere inside the stadium has not been at its raucous best.
But with the team still battling in the play-off places with 35 matches remaining, he believes if the players, staff and supporters all come together on Saturday afternoon that results will start to turn in Wolves’ favour.
On bouncing back from Tuesday night
“I try to make my evaluation of a game as honest as possible, and for sure, I see the game differently from the supporters – that’s why I’m the head coach, but I think it was an unfair result.
“In the first 45 minutes, we didn’t play like we normally do. We didn’t play with courage or attack the spaces like we normally do and in the second half, we scored and created another two or three chances. Portsmouth had one shot on target in the whole 90 minutes, and they scored. It’s like that.
“But we analysed the game, and I spoke with the players. We controlled the game with the ball, but we didn’t control the spaces – that’s the difference. We didn’t attack the spaces at the right moments, we didn’t attack the depth at the right moments, and we didn’t have the right mobility.
“We controlled possession, created more chances and were the better team, but we could have done better because we didn’t attack them at the right moments to create more chances. That’s what we’ve worked on with the team and what we’re trying to improve for the next game.”
On improving for facing Watford
“Every game is different and every opponent is different, but it’s clear that when we don’t win our home games, the environment is different.
“But we started the season with this environment. We didn’t win the first game, but after that we beat Stoke 4-1 and won against West Brom, and we’re going to win again, for sure. I don’t have doubts about that.
“But sometimes games aren’t how we want them to be. Sometimes we don’t play as well as we want, but the difference over a long season is whether you can win when you’re not playing well.
“I have confidence in the players. I trust all of them. In the last four games, almost all the players have played because I have confidence in them, and we also have to rotate because there are so many games. It’s a tough moment for us with the injuries, but that doesn’t mean I have less confidence in my players or my team because of one draw.
“The Championship is a marathon and we’re going to have these moments, but we have to stay together. I don’t have doubts about what we need to do, and the players don’t have doubts about what they need to do to improve for the next game.”
On leadership on the pitch
“We have leaders and we have a clear idea, but when the team doesn’t follow our patterns or make the movements we normally make in training, we become more insecure. What makes us secure during the 90 minutes is following our patterns and behaviours, with and without the ball.
“We have players like Krejci, who’s also a leader, we have Trippier, whether he’s on or off the pitch, we have Adam [Armstrong] coming back as an option, and we have a lot of players, so I’m not worried about that.
“What worries me is when the team doesn’t do what we normally do When the players don’t understand certain moments of the game – whether we need to attack the depth or play to feet, attract the opposition to one side or switch to the other.
“Teams come to Molineux and defend deep, looking to counter-attack and sometimes the players have difficulty understanding what the game needs. Normally, we’re much better in the second half because I correct a few things, not a lot, and help the players understand what the game needs.
“But I don’t have an issue with leadership. I have leaders and a great group with a great spirit. It’s true that in the first 45 minutes against Portsmouth we didn’t play how we wanted, but in the next game, we’ll play with courage again, for sure.”
On Armstrong returning to training
“He’s an option and he’s a very important player for us. If you look at the last game, we played with Sean [Neave], Fer [Lopez] and Rafiki [Said] – we have a lot of young players with quality, but the Championship is tough.
“We need players like Adam, Raul [Jimenez], Trippier, Andre, Krejci and Toti. Players who have played a lot of minutes at a high level help maintain the consistency of the team, so Adam is very important. Even when he doesn’t score, he works very hard for the team and he’s a player his teammates have confidence in. When you look alongside you and see a player like Adam, it gives you confidence.
“Because of the injuries, we don’t have all those players on the pitch, but they’re still part of the group, and that’s important. With Raul unavailable, Adam is our number one striker, so he’s very important.
“I don’t have any doubts that he’s going to score. He’s scored a lot of goals in the Championship and he knows his quality. He’s not at an age where he needs to doubt his ability and he knows we have a lot of confidence in him, and his teammates have confidence in him too.”
