Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo was interviewed by ESPN Brasil right after the 1-1 draw against Manchester City this weekend.
Not in a hurry to leave, the boss had a pretty nice chat in Portuguese with reporter Natali Gedra, and had a good response to every question she made.
The journalist first pointed out that Wolves are playing the same way they did in the Championship, and asked the manager if their tactics can be applied to any opponent.
“It’s good to hear that,” said Nuno, smiling. “It’s good to hear that. Because yes, that’s what we believe. That’s what we work on. Create a shape, an organisation that doesn’t change, but adapts to any opponent. Without disparaging or exalting anyone. Just to think of us. How to get control of the game with just one idea. I liked it!”
On the result against Manchester City, which despite the important point, ended up as a disappointment for fans who saw Wolves score first, the manager said: “More important is the way we play. From the first minute to the end, always organised, always looking for the goal. The chances that we create, the opportunities that we realise. We try, through the counterattack, through the organisation.”
“That’s what’s important, that’s what’s important. We wanted to win, our fans wanted to win, but we only had the English champions ahead of us. I mean, we have to give credit and it’s a fantastic team, a fantastic coach, a very good game idea. Difficult to counteract, we achieved today, we only suffered in the set pieces. We are on the right way.”
Finally, asked about Wolves’ goals for the season, Nuno Espírito Santo didn’t really want to say if they’re seeking a specific position in the table.
“It’s a project. And the projects have steps. The first step was the previous year. Now we are in step two, which we say year two. And year two is to consolidate and create an identity that everyone knows how it is, but that is ours. This takes time. This requires patience, requires effort, requires dedication. This is the new project.”
“We do not create or look at our future. We try to control our present day by day, game by game, but with only one idea: To be better every day to create our identity, improve the quality of the players, that they feel increasingly able to compete at this level. Build a team.”
