NUNO HAILS ‘GREAT’ PEP

WOLVES boss Nuno Espirito Santo says Pep Guardiola has already shown enough to be ranked alongside the greatest managers of all time.

Nuno (above) takes his Premier League fledglings to the Etihad on Monday night for their latest progress report.

Guardiola’s men are fighting on four fronts and trail Liverpool by just four points at the top of the table.

Last season, the Spaniard took them to the title with 100 points, to add to his La Liga titles with Barcelona and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.

Nuno said: “I admire him a lot. He is one of the best of all time. He has achieved so many things and his idea of how the game should be played is admirable.

“He has brought something new to the game and that’s the mark of a great coach.

“When you are judging where somebody ranks, it is very difficult because how far do you go back?

“But I would say, without doubt, that he is in that small group who you can regard as being great.”

Wolves go into the game having knocked Liverpool out of the FA

Cup last Monday. Nuno added: “The next game is always the biggest.

“City are a fantastic team with a fantastic manager and fantastic players.

“I think we are growing and learning as we go along.

“I always feel there is more to come, something to improve on.”

Wolves failed in a bid to get Aston Villa’s on-loan striker Tammy Abraham to the club, but Nuno did not seem bothered.

The 16-goal striker, on loan from Chelsea, looked to be on his way to Molineux but the deal fell through.

Nuno said: “I don’t speak about rumours. When things happen, we announce them, until then – just rumours. We concentrate only on things we can control.”