Gary O’Neil admits his time as Wolves head coach has been one of the busiest spells of career as he prepares his team for another Premier League outing this weekend while the transfer window is close to slamming shut.
Having added Paraguayan winger Enso Gonzalez to his group this morning, O’Neil believes there are still additions to be made to his team ahead of Friday evening’s transfer deadline, as he aims to have a playing squad in a better state come Sunday’s top flight visit to Selhurst Park.
On a busy but pleasing week
“I was happy with large parts of the performance [against Everton] – the work rate, the attitude, some of the chances we created, because we created some big chances still, and the way we were resolute and defended our goal – but we need to win football matches.
“It’s not all going to be pretty patterns and dominating the ball and having 20 shots a game, that’s not how the Premier League is going to be every week. But it was a tough game against Everton and sometimes you need to roll up your sleeves to win, and the boys did.
“It was a big result for the group as well, because you want to get your first win of the season and get yourself up and running, because we’ve had a tough start; Manchester United followed by Brighton, so Everton away was somewhere we felt we could go and get something from, we have, and Crystal Palace is the same.”
On his squad taking shape
“The guys in the recruitment team and Matt Hobbs are working extremely hard to get us what we feel to need to get a balanced squad and the players we feel we need to be competitive.
“We’ve missed out on a couple that we would have liked, but that’s always the way, you very rarely get all of them done and you move on to the next target. I’m sure by the close of play on the 1st [September] we’ll have the squad we want and that I feel we can attack every game with.
“But by the end of the transfer window we’re going to have the squad in a better place than it was last week. Everyone here is working extremely hard, myself included, to make sure this club is in the best place possible. We won’t stop working until we achieve that.”
On Wolves’ transfer window
“Enso has arrived and he’s a talent. He’s very young, coming from South America, so there will be some adaptation time needed.
“He’s also had a long couple of days as well, so we’ll need to bed him in and help him with the transition of living in a new place, with a new group, and getting used to a very different league to what he was playing in, but I’m sure he can give us something this year and impact how productive we can be in the final third.
“I’m hopeful we can do some more. There are still a few areas, I don’t want to give away too much but there are still a few areas where hopefully we can still strengthen between now and the end of the window.”
Welcome to the pack, Enso ✍️ pic.twitter.com/0O51qqco85
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 31, 2023
On signing Gonzalez
“He has a lot of talent, a lot of ability and a great work ethic. I’ve watched the footage of him and all the games I’ve watched he’s always had a great desire to impact the game.
“When his team has got the ball, and whether it is to get back in, so there’s a nice grit and determination about him, together with the obvious qualities he has with his left foot and how he’s able to carry the ball, and he’s young, so there’s plenty of room for progression as well. He ticks all the boxes of a player you want to bring in, so I’m delighted to have him in the building.”
On his first few weeks at Molineux
“I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been unbelievably busy – I think it’s been my busiest spell ever as a head coach. But that’s just the nature of it.
“How close everything has been together, how close the first game was when I arrived, then the next game came a few days later and then we’ve had a three-game week, and the transfer window, so it’s been really busy, but it’s been really enjoyable.
“It’s a process that I’ve been throwing myself into, and I understand that it is a process, trying to see progression every day with the group, so I’m really enjoying it and it’s a fantastic club to be able to come to work for.”
