EYES ,ON THE PRIZE LADS...
Welcome Mat for boss Gary Mcginn focused on sorting Molineux record
MATHEUS CUNHA says Gary O’neil has created a gang culture at Wolves – and he loves it.
The Brazilian striker has thrown his weight firmly behind the club’s new boss ahead of today’s West Midlands derby clash.
The former Atletico Madrid striker, 24 (below) who joined on a permanent deal this summer after a successful loan spell, credits O’neil with bringing an ‘extra energy’ to the side.
The 2-1 victory over Manchester City last week has cemented O’neil’s position and Cunha, for one, is buying in.
He said: “The manager came at a very challenging time, where there were more questions than answers and he handled the situation well.
“Now, little by little, he’s been moulding the team in his image and I feel he’s a guy who is there to help everyone out.
“People like him infuse you with extra energy.”
Cunha added that because of his language skills, hehas been accepted as a member of the various dressing room groups that have developed.
He added: “I speak many languages, I get along with all the lads. I belong to all the gangs, the Latin one, the French, the South American – I’m checking in with the English one at the moment to see if I can learn a little bit more.”
JOHN MCGINN has bottled the upset from past Molineux defeats – and plans to use that hurt to fire Villa to derby glory today.
The bustling midfielder says Wolves fans “don’t mind rubbing it in our faces” after being on the end of a familiar defeat in the Black Country on his last two visits.
Indeed, Villa have lost on five of their last six trips to Molineux – their only victory came during lockdown – and the Scotland international says it’s time that record stopped.
And if any of his colleagues don’t understand what’s at stake, he will hammer home the point just before kick-off.
He said: “We need to bottle the feeling we’ve had from the last couple of times we’ve been there.
“We haven’t beaten them there since the Covid era when there were no supporters. They don’t mind rubbing it in our faces when they get three points, so I’ll be letting our new lads know that it’s a very tough place to play – they get right on your back.
“So, we need to be at it. We need to roll up our sleeves and be ready for this battle and show the qualities we’ve been showing in the Premier League so far.
“We need to win the fight first. We’ve given ourselves far too much to do at Molineux in the past couple of seasons, allowing them to get a foothold in the game, losing second balls, tackles and then we don’t show what we can do.
“They played extremely well against Manchester City last week.
“And that’s what they did. Fought for every ball and when the chances came, they took them.
“We respect them, massively. They’ve got a very good manager in Gary O’neil but we’re in great form – and we need to carry that on.”
Villa, who also won in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, raised a few eyebrows around the country last week when they hit Brighton for six.
Mcginn says the club had been going about its business quietly until the Ollie Watkins-inspired show KO’D the Seagulls at Villa Park.
He added: “I think it was coming. We hadn’t been playing the way we knew we could – but we’ve still been picking up results, creeping up the table and going under the radar.
“What we have to deal with now is teams approaching us in a different way.
“That style of game suited us. We needed to dig deep but we’ve got two speed demons up front to make sure we’ve got an out-ball.
“We need to improve when teams come and sit deep. We need to be more patient, make more runs.
“It’s something we’re working on. We’re getting there. We’re not there yet but we’re giving ourselves chances to be right in the mix for some special things.”
Unai Emery has now been in charge for almost a year and Mcginn reckons Villa fans should stay patient because the boss is a winner.
He said: “The manager dreams the same way that we do. He’s patient when it comes to ideas and tactics – but he wants to win.
“You can see that with how ambitious he is, with the signings he’s making. As players, it’s up to us. You can either get on board and improve, otherwise, you’ll be shifted out.”