Big-spenders Wolves have made my job HARDER
WAGNER ADMITS NUNO’S ON DIFFERENT LEVEL PROBABLE TEAMS
WOLVES v HUDDERSFIELD
While Santo (right) is reaping the rewards of an £80million transfer splurge that enabled him to strengthen his squad for the Premier League, Wagner is forced to rely on more astute methods.
That included a warm-weather training break to Marbella during the international break, when Wagner used the trip to nurture the team spirit that enabled the Terriers to survive last season.
Huddersfield travel to Molineux today already mired in the bottom three, while Wolves are eyeing a possible top-10 finish.
But a defiant Wagner said: “I am not a man who dreams. I am a man who deals with the circumstances he has.
“I knew those circumstances when I signed my contract with Huddersfield and I am absolutely fine with what I have and what the club, the chairman and the board give me to progress.
“We can only do what we are able to do and we try to do it as best we can. I am a strong believer that if you don’t have stand-out individuals who can decide the games, then, collectively, you must be on the highest level you can possibly be.
“You can do that better if the team feels like a family, bound together by a collective responsibility.
“I am a believer that it always helps that togetherness and spirit if you have a good, tight background.”
When Wagner and his squad jetted out to the Costa del Sol, they took their families with them – as they have done for the last two seasons.
Huddersfield went into the break having collected four points from two home games against Fulham and West Ham.
But a trip to the Midlands to face a Wolves team bolstered by huge investment and Santos’ close working relationship with Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes will put their mini-revival to the test.
Wagner said: “From my point of view, the Premier League this season is stronger than last season because a promoted team like Wolves already had a very decent side. “On top of that, they were able to invest – and they have been very smart in the way they have done that. “The investment that both Wolves and Fulham have made speaks for itself, but I would say that the Wolverhampton team were already prepared for the Premier League. “I don’t think I have the best record in terms of results after these trips to train away. But I think it helps for the long term. “We take the wives, the partners and the kids because, from my experience, I can say that the better the harmony was between the families, then the better the harmony was in the dressing room as well. “When I speak about harmony, I don’t mean that everybody has to love each other. “What I am talking about is creating an atmosphere where everybody likes to work and tries to be competitive. “In a team where you don’t have stand-out individuals, this is how you get the best out of the collective.”