Eagles will go hunting against wounded Wolves
CONOR COADY has issued a rallying cry for Wolves to rediscover their pack mentality – and end a poor run of form.
The club’s skipper fronted up after their Europa League tie against Braga ended with the Portuguese side mounting a late smash ’n’ grab raid on Molineux.
It was the latest knock in a campaign that has failed to spark into life and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side head for Selhurst Park this lunchtime still in search of their first Premier League win.
Coming on the back of such an encouraging first campaign in the top flight, Wolves are hitting the buffers for the first time under their Portuguese boss.
And Coady admitted Wolves needed to get back to basics.
He said: “We’re in a bad run at the minute. We need to snap out of it. We’re making one mistake and we’re getting punished for it.
“We had a dip last season, it came a bit later, but we got through it. So we need to make sure we come together, supporters, staff, players. We’re all men, we know what we need to do. We need to be brave.
“We’ve got to learn. Braga, for instance, sat in and countered us. The longer the game went on without us scoring, it gave them more belief – you could see that. If you are not going to score, then you’ve got to make sure you don’t concede.
“We have a way of playing, we need to stick to that and what we do best. We’ll analyse it and go again.”
Coady shrugged off suggestions that Wolves were struggling from “second-season syndrome”.
He said: “I’ve never really believed in it.”
Then he added: “You’ve got to remember we did something extraordinary last season in qualifying for Europe.
“We’ve had a lot of games, we’re sti l l learning. But we’d rather be learning while we’re winning matches, believe me, because losing matches is the worst feeling in the world.
“When you have a season like the one we had, expectations are higher. They are always high, especially outside the club, but at the moment we aren’t picking up wins and we need to stop getting beaten.
“When we are at our best, we do the simple things well. It’s not certain players.
“It’s all of us and there’s no better time to get it sorted than at Palace.”
Team-mate Diogo Jota added: “I t ’s not happening for us. If we keep working, then it will get better.
“Things don’t always go well. Every team has a lull in the season. Ours is now, at the beginning, and we will get to the next level soon.
“When you win, everything is easier.” ROY HODGSON has ordered Crystal Palace to pile the misery on struggling Wolves this afternoon.
The trip to Selhurst Park is the 13th game of the season for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, whose campaign kicked off way back in July with the Europa League qualifiers.
That whopping workload already appears to be seriously damaging their domestic form. Wolves are in the Premier League drop zone after failing to win any of their opening