With Julen Lopetegui now in charge at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Spanish manager has the World Cup break to assess his squad and decide the next steps.
The manager first refused the Molineux job after being sacked by Sevilla, wanting to focus on family, but Wolves continued to pursue him, eventually convincing him to take over from Bruno Lage.
Steve Davis has been managing the interim, but Lopetegui will be the one taking the club forward after the World Cup, where he will finally get a chance to work in the Premier League.
This could have happened six years ago, as he revealed to AS that he was extremely close to signing for Wolves before taking over as the Spain manager.
He said: “Yes, six years ago, practically a day before being responsible for the national team, I was on the plane to come to Wolverhampton, but it’s true that that story was postponed because it seems that fate had us together again, and in this case, we are here with the hope of helping them, to change the dynamics of the team.”
With Wolves currently bottom of the Premier League, there are no illusions as to what the challenge is at Molineux these days from Lopetegui’s end, who understands the task at hand.
He added: “The goal we have in the position we are in is, without a doubt, to save the team. It will be a complicated and complex task, but exciting and it motivates us to be able to convince the boys that they can do it.
“And that they are able to show their best face and their best version. We prepare to think about going game by game. There is no other way.”
To do that, he will have to make sure he gets the best out of everyone, and that will have to include Raul Jimenez, who will be hoping to represent Mexico in some shape or form at the World Cup.
However, Wolves will also need to be active on the January transfer market, which is something Lopetegui admitted in the same interview.
He said: “Yes, we will try to improve the team and improve the alternatives. That’s why I talked to you a bit about balancing the team and the squad, which is something we need and that we will surely do.”
So, Wolves fans can expect a fair bit of movement in the coming months, with Lopetegui perhaps planning something of a small revolution at the club in order to get the squad to the level he wants it to and to one capable of getting out of this miserable rut.
