Fuming lage wants a wolves response
bRUno LaGe was seething after his dunces went from flirting with the top table to a likelier fate in mid-table in three weeks.
Wolves were english football’s pioneers in europe 65 years ago, and last month there was optimistic talk of a top-four finish and Champions League football coming to Molineux.
but those pipedreams have expired after a hat-trick of defeats against London clubs.
now, instead of fine dining with the elite, they will be lucky to get a kebab in the thursday night europa Conference League.
head coach Lage warned, after the narrow 2-1 win against Leicester, that Champions League talk was premature — and he was spot-on.
the first half against Crystal Palace was the most feckless, insipid 45 minutes Wolves have served up this season and he raged: “It’s a warning for me and my players — I will not tolerate those 45 minutes again.
Answer
“I will see the behaviour of each one and I hope they give me he right answer.
“I said everything can happen, even if we’d won these three games, I would say the same thing,
“the only thing to understand is that I want us to be consistent and solid — and that only comes with work.
“I need to understand my players’ mentality. If they are comfortable with these 40 points or if they continue to have ambition to go to the next level.
“Yes, it’s important for us for us to finish fourth and play in the Champions League, or finish sixth or seventh and to be in in the europa League, but for now, what I want now is to get back to playing our way.
“I was asked if I’d be disappointed with eighth place but you cannot prepare the future.
“I need to see the players and how they behave after this game. I want to know about the players’ mentality.”
brazilian wing-back Marcal admitted: “We need to put our heads up and turn this page because, for sure, the last three games weren’t good for us. We can do better because we have a good team, and we will do it.”
england coach Gareth Southgate was in the crowd to run the rule over a handful of three Lions World Cup prospects on either side.
Quartet
he would have been far more impressed by Palace quartet Marc Guehi, tyrick Mitchell, Michael olise and Conor Gallagher than home defenders Max Kilman and Conor Coady.
olise is qualified to play for four different nations — england, France, algeria and nigeria — so Southgate had better play his cards soon.
Palace, who are becoming a slick, incisive side away from home, were two up inside 34 minutes through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s bizarre goal and Wilf Zaha’s penalty.
Where eagles dared, Wolves were sluggish and gave the ball away like Green Shield stamps. no wonder Lage blew his top and thursday night’s rearranged home game with lowly Watford will test their appetite for renewed passports in europe.
he added: “after the West ham game (where Wolves lost 1-0) I was very mad with my players but today I was just disappointed.
“I will not allow anyone to relax — if they relax, they are out of the team.”