Raul tells Wolves to ‘think big’ and claw out a place in final

Wolves v Olympiakos Europa League last 16, 2nd leg, tomorrow, 8pm (first leg 1-1)

RAUL JIMENEZ has urged Wolves to “think big” ahead of their return to Europa League action.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side host Greek champions Olympiakos tomorrow in the second leg of their last-16 clash.

Wanderers drew 1-1 in March (Pedro Neto scoring their goal, below), with a place in the knockout mini-tournament in Germany now at stake in a competition where the winners qualify for the Champions League.

Top-scorer Jimenez, who has 26 goals this season, said: “We have to think big. We must think,

‘We want to be in the final and win it’.

“We have to go with that mentality and effort and then we can achieve it. If we go with our heads down, we aren’t going to achieve anything.

“We all know each other, we know we are a good team that works together. We have to think bigger.”

Finishing seventh in the Premier League for a second successive season was not enough to seal another Europa League opportunity as eighth-placed Arsenal won the FA Cup. But Mexico striker Jimenez (above, left), who has been linked with both Juventus and Manchester United, added: “This season we beat our points record of last season, so both seasons were fantastic. Maybe we should do better, but we played very good and deserve all we have.”

If Wolves win tomorrow, they will face either Roma or Sevilla in the quarterfinals. And Jimenez, who has scored nine times in the Europa League this season, wishes Wanderers had a packed Molineux crowd roaring them on. He said: “We have the opportunity at home to get into a quarter-final. “It’s difficult as the fans always support us in the stands amazingly, but we have to keep going like this. You have to get used to it as I don’t know how long it’s going to be because of the pandemic.” Jimenez attributes his impressive form to a steady supply line from wing-backs

Matt Doherty and Jonny, plus Diogo Jota and Adama Traore, who tend to play either side of him.

He said: “Having two wingers gives me the opportunity to be in the centre, in the box, looking for crosses and the spaces to be in to score. All the team is involved in this and my work is to score as many goals as I can.”