The under-21s head coach conceded that his side were well-beaten in the Premier League Cup tie, with the Royals inflicting a first group stage loss of the campaign on the old gold. However, Wolves remain in a strong position to qualify having already accumulated nine points and a further point from the final two games set to confirm a place in the knockout stages.
On the performance
“Disappointment. Probably for the first time in a long while I thought we got what we deserved from a negative point of view. We were well beaten.
“We competed in the first half and played some nice football without threatening and then gave a really soft goal away at the end of the half.
“I was hoping to get in at 0-0 and regroup, but we didn’t manage to do that.
“I said to them at half-time, nobody’s playing really badly and nobody’s playing well – who’s going to change their performance from a six out of 10 to a seven or eight out of 10 that might get you back in the game?
“I felt in the second half we were having a bit of a go without really looking like scoring.”
On not feeling quite at the races
“At 2-0 I thought the wind went out of our sails a little bit. We had another little spell where we had a go and had a couple of half chances, but I never got the feeling we were going to get back into the game.
“They then scored a magnificent free-kick at the end of the game, so I thought they got what they deserved.
“We don’t get out-fought by many teams and the group take great pride in that, but I thought today they out-fought us in all areas.
“It’s a day we’ll have to put to bed. We’ve done very well in this competition and were on nine points from three games before today’s game.”
On being in a strong position to qualify
“Not many teams go through the competition without losing in the groups, so it’s tough. Today was our day, we’ve lost and will have to take it on the chin.
“We enjoyed it last year, got to the final and had a great night at the Hawthorns. We want to go as far as we can in all competitions.
“We’ve got to make sure we get something from our last two games that keeps us in the competition. The top two qualify so we’re in a good position.”
