Thoughts on a crucial win?
Really good. I really liked the performance, the result, the clean sheet. But especially the way the team has individually shown that they still have another step forward to make and resilience that is needed in these moments to step in and say ‘I’m here, I’m gonna make myself count and impact the team’.
What can you say about the extra bit of energy they found at the end?
If you look at the amount of games we’ve played in the last few weeks, the types of games that we have played and the attitude and the way they played it’s top. It’s within them. They want to win, they want to compete at their best and their effort is unquestionable. The results are something but I’m really happy for the approach and the mentality of the team.
Can you talk us through the quick turnaround from Munich?
We stayed in Munich. I think we had an hour or two hours of sleep. Wake up, start to talk about Wolves, then about what the players need, how we’re gonna get the into the best mental and physical condition to win this game and to beat them. The boys were unbelievable, the staff was unbelievable. It’s a joy to work with them.
We realised that if you want to be in the big competitions fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League and the level that requires you have to do something special. You have to be something special and love to compete and expose yourself when it’s needed to get the outcome that you want. I thought the boys did that really well today.
Were you tempted to make more changes?
We thought about the possibilities and the way we had to manage the game in relation to the score, the state and what they were proposing. We had many options to do that. The ones that played did well and the subs that we made made a huge impact that we wanted. Really pleased. Unfortunately we cannot use all the players that deserve minutes. But that’s always the same.
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What do you make of Pep’s comments about the quick turnaround after the Champions League?
It’s not about us, Pep our myself it’s about the wellbeing of the players. When you compete in European competition every team has to compete in the same way. You cannot have a team that hasn’t played for seven days, or three days before and has more recovery time and then you have to play in the Premier League and the FA Cup. It is not right. If you look in any angle it’s not right. If you want to protect, let’s talk about the players and the protagonists. Let’s protect the players and do everything we can to give them the maximum time to help them recover and perform and do the show that they do every week.
How hard is it to get six away clean sheets in a row?
Very difficult. I don’t know when it was last done. I imagine not recently because it’s extremely difficult to do that. Credit to the boys for the level of organisation, for the understanding and the love that they show defending and the platform that it gives to the team to win football matches.
Do they take pride in defending?
They do. The pride in the win for everything. They want to be as difficult as possible to beat for the opponent as a team. We did that today. We conceded a poor chance from an individual error, but other than that the team was really good again.
How crucial was Raya’s save?
Very, because we didn’t concede anything up to that point. We had some very open situations that would have changed the game for sure. David was outstanding in that moment to make the save that we needed and then we took advantage. I think the timing of the first goal was really helpful as well. Really happy.
Can you count on Raya now?
I think he’s been very consistent throughout the whole season. The numbers are proof of that.
What can you say about Trossard?
He’s a little magician. He can score with any service. He’s a big threat. So composed, so cool, he can play in different positions. Just a joy to have him in the team.