THE WOLF PACK
++ Motivational messages and funny videos on Whats App ++ But don’t stand with your hands on hips in training!
THE first time Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo really smiled in a Zoom call yesterday was as he discussed the business of making players better.
‘When that happens, it’s really special,’ he said, grinning almost boyishly. ‘That’s what it’s all about. And it will always be about that.’
At Wolves, the improvement of players and the purchase of very good ones has led to the emergence of an exciting team. Before today’s home game against Arsenal, Nuno’s team are sixth in the Premier League, two points off the Champions League places.
Nuno, 46, will not talk about Europe. ‘There has never been that talk and there never will be,’ he said. But nor will he set a limit on how high his team can fly.
‘It’s unlimited,’ he said. ‘We are chasing perfection. It’s about having a squad to compete with anybody, no matter where.’
Wolves have won only six times at home this season, surprising for a club with such vibrant support. Strangely, 27 of their 52 league points have come away. Whether that explains why Nuno’s team have managed so well without fans since football’s resumption, it’s impossible to tell. What we do know is that few teams re-entered the fray fitter, and three wins from three is the upshot.
‘The reason is the work and dedication of the players during lockdown,’ said Nuno.
The Wolves manager spent the season’s interruption at home in Portugal, but his influence was felt. While the Wolves first team messaged each other daily on their own WhatsApp group, Nuno was a regular contributor on another staff and players’ forum.
‘It was motivational messages or videos and even some funny stuff,’ revealed a Wolves source. ‘His way of making sure he was in contact without suffocating them.’
Despite their wide range of nationalities — eight different countries were represented in the starting XI who beat Aston Villa 1-0 last Saturday — the Wolves players are tight.
The influence of captain Conor Coady, who has played every minute of his club’s last 105 league games since Nuno moved him from midfield to defence, is profound. So is that of Portuguese playmaker Joao Moutinho.
It was the 33-year-old who amused bored team-mates by sending them regular videos of himself performing outlandish tricks with the ball in his garden.
‘We missed each other and our daily routine,’ said Coady recently. ‘But while we were away, there was incredible attention to detail from our amazing staff. We have to do what they tell us simply because we know it works.’
Lockdown sessions provided by Wolves fitness coach Antonio Dias were rigorous. Coady did the necessary running in a field next to his house, and foreign players based in Wolverhampton were able to use the club’s training ground on a revolving basis.
With the club’s nutritionist delivering food to the players’ homes, no stone was left unturned. It is now up to the players to take the next step.
Nuno will take charge of his 150th Wolves game today. His impact at the club was immediate and endures. Appointed in 2017, he won promotion to the Premier League in his first season. His team played an expansive style many thought would be tempered by pragmatism in the top division. That hasn’t happened. Speaking to the excellent
Molineux View podcast, former Wolves sporting director Kevin Thelwell revealed: ‘Most managers say they need nine to 12 months to build a philosophy and a team. Nuno did it in five weeks in pre-season. It was incredible. It looked like we had been playing 3-5-2 for 10 years.’
Thelwell left Molineux after 11 years in March. In his wake is a set-up shaped by the Portuguese coach. His influence runs through the club and every age-group team now employ Nuno’s system.
Nuno, for example, likes big, athletic central defenders so academy scouts are instructed to seek out boys with those traits.
‘When you have a coach with a clear idea of the positional attributes needed for each space, it means you can direct recruitment into very specific areas,’ added Thelwell. ‘We would put one or two profiles in front of Nuno and he would make the choice. I can’t think of a time when we signed a player he didn’t want.’
Wolves’ first-team squad is not big. That again is Nuno’s choice. It means players from the Under-23s and Under-18s are regularly called to join training sessions.
WhatsApp messages delivered to academy head Scott Sellars each day list the first-team needs for that day. If boys do not fit in, or do not behave well, it is a while before their chance comes again.
Wolves are growing in ambition. It is extraordinary that only 13 years ago, the club was bought by previous owner Steve Morgan from Sir Jack Hayward for £10.
On match day, with fans in, the stadium bounces and there is talk of redeveloping Molineux further. the club is also thinking about building a ministadium to host the women’s team and Under-23s. Manchester City have led the way in this regard and Wolves have no qualms about following. Chelsea is another club whose structure they admire. Wolves would like to copy their policy of having two lead coaches for each age-group team.
For now, though, it is the first team who point the way. Nuno’s pet hate is players standing at training with hands on hips. He feels it shows they are not ready to work.
With this truncated season nearing its critical weeks, there is no indication they are ready to slack off just yet.
it could be argued any football team is only as good as their manager. At Wolves, it is more complicated. the relationship with super-agent Jorge Mendes is well known. He advised Chinese owners Fosun when they were searching for a club to buy in 2016. His Gestifute company — in which Fosun have a small share — have an executive box at Molineux and one of his most trusted staffers, Valdir Cardoso, is his man in the Black Country. Around 10 members of a Portuguese-flavoured first-team pool are represented by Gestifute.
During thelwell’s time at Wolves it was suggested Cardoso was the driving force behind recruitment. thelwell has not been replaced since leaving for New York Red Bulls, but he was phlegmatic when pressed on the matter.
‘i have a lot of respect for Jorge and for Valdir,’ thelwell told
Molineux View. ‘their network gives Wolves access to any football club in the world. Wolves are lucky to have that.’
it is against regulations for an agent to head up a club’s recruitment and Mendes’ influence at Wolves is seen as being on the right side of the line by the EFL and the Premier League. Equally, it is not unusual for clubs to rely on big-name agents. Wolves describe Mendes as an ‘advisor’ and the only worry for fans will be if and when he decides Nuno’s career is ready for its next step.
Nuno was Mendes’ first client — they met almost 25 years ago — and he has only managed at clubs (Rio Ave and Porto in Portugal, Valencia in Spain) where his agent was involved. At Rio Ave and Valencia, Mendes was assisted by ian Cathro, and the Scot teamed up with his old mentor again at Molineux after being sacked by Hearts.
in Spain, they talk of Nuno as a future manager of Atletico Madrid, where Mendes has influence. Last year, he was fancied by today’s opponents Arsenal.
in Wolverhampton, they merely hope this gifted coach will renew a deal that expires next summer.