Portuguese newspaper O Jogo on Sunday featured a four-page interview with Wolverhampton Wanderers star Pedro Neto.
The winger talked a lot about how the season has been going for him at Molineux side, and the great relationship he has with his compatriots in the squad.
With Wolves results being a little below expectation, Neto claims they’ve been playing great games, but failing to guarantee some points they deserved.
“I think there were games in which we deserved much more. Recently, against Tottenham we played a great game, created many opportunities, in the second half we were better and we could have won three points. But we had started the game losing and we only got a draw,” Neto told O Jogo.
“In the last match against United we were also unlucky, even at the end of extra time we conceded the goal of defeat, in a move where the ball deflected on Saiss… We also have to be more effective in some moments. In view of what the team has produced, I think we deserved more.”
Still on Manchester United’s late win, he said: “It wasn’t easy, because we had great opportunities to score goals and if United didn’t play well it was because we didn’t let them. We played a very competent game. I felt that we could’ve won and as if that wasn’t enough, in the last move we had the misfortune to lose that way. We are a group that doesn’t forget quickly, but then we focus on the next game.”
He also spoke about his relationship with manager Nuno Espírito Santo and how much the squad respects him.
“The image that the team gives is that of our coach. Everyone recognises us as a very strong, compact team, with a strong sense of mutual help. This is the idea that Nuno gives us. He wants a united, concentrated group, with everyone fighting for the same goals. The way we play reflects the coach’s way of thinking.
Neto was quizzed about Wolves’ ambitions for the season, with O Jogo mentioning that more should be on the way.
“The other season, the position we got didn’t allow us to play in Europe because Arsenal, who were behind us, won the cup. We’d like to qualify again for the European events. I hope we can turn our good football into results, because the most important thing is the victories, not the performances.”
On the FA Cup campaign, he didn’t want to set a goal: “Get as far as possible, then we’ll see”.
He also talked about the ‘lesson’ of being knocked-out of the Europa League: “It was a high moment to get so far in Europe, where the club hadn’t been for many years. The club had experienced promotion two years ago, then qualifying for Europe and this moment was being very important and exciting for the players and fans. But with the pandemic we only had one game against Sevilla, we lost and we had no opportunity to correct the defeat. It was a learning experience for us, a lesson.”
There was also a question where Neto was asked to talk about all of his teammates, so he made a short description of each one’s personality.
“Rui Patrício, perhaps he may not show it, but he’s the image of concentration in person. He has incredible concentration and is an excellent person too. He helped me a lot in the beginning.
“Nélson Semedo was an excellent signing for the team, a huge asset. He’s a very fast player. A good colleague inside the dressing room, who seeks to help the youngest. He’s a very simple person, who came from one of the biggest clubs in the world and who had no problems adapting to a club of a smaller size and historical weight.
“Rúben Neves and João Moutinho are the stars of the squad, perhaps they are with whom I spend the most time, perhaps because we have similar ways of thinking. On the field they are leaders, they like to play, to have the ball.
“Vítor is perhaps the most reserved, he arrived this year, he doesn’t say much, but he has a lot of technical quality. Fábio Silva, on the other hand, is a prankster, he’s always laughing, and he’s a forward with immense quality.
“I was forgetting about Podence. This one is even more reserved than Vitinha. But he’s a very focused and hardworking player, I call him the mini Hazard, because he has characteristics similar to his, very quick and fast, he’s a character. It seems that he’s always upset, but it’s his way of being.”
