Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
EVERYTHING TOUCHES TURNS TO
Wolves boss has Midas touch... but predicts new season will be huge test
NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO has the Molineux Midas touch.
The manager’s f i r st season was solid gold – winning the Championship title in emphatic style with 99 points.
He followed that by guiding Wolves to seventh in the Premier League and a place i n the Europa League qualification stages later this month.
Nuno has been helped by huge investment from Wo l v e s ’ ambitious Chinese owners, Fosun, who have close ties with super-agent Jorge Mendes.
But the driving force has b e en Nuno – a studious coach with the vision, ability and determination to oversee the transformation.
He is now preparing for his third campaign at the helm with Wolves, who are in Europe for the first time since 1981.
It has prompted huge excitement at the club, where 4,000 shirts were sold on the first day the new replica kit went on sale last week.
“Last season we can say we went beyond outside expectations,” said the 45-year-old Portuguese. “It is not normal for a club from the Championship.
“But the year in the Championship we were building a team.
“It is not so o important which competition you are in, it is the way and how you u want to do things. .
“The team progressed and played better than the season before. There were moments w h ere you reflect and you look back and say, ‘Well done’.
“The boys really worked hard and achieved far more than we expected in terms of performance.
“But I don’t take too much time looking back. Now is a new challenge and a new year. It is going to be tougher than last season , for sure. The season will demand a lot more from us.
“We are going to be in four competitions but, at the same time, I expect the players to keep improving.”
If anyone is capable of breaking into the top six, it is Wolves. Internationals like J o a o Mo u t i n h o (be ( b e l o w) , R u b e n N Neves, Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez would certainly not look out of p place among the Pre P remi er L ea gu e’s real heavyweights.
But there are still inconsistencies – good results against every side above them, in either the league or cup last term, were balanced by two defeats to relegated Huddersfield.
Nuno will again work with a tight, small squad and is optimistic after his side showed character to bounce back from adversity last season. They were 2-0 up against Watford i n the FA Cup semi-finals with 12 minutes left before agonisingly losing 3-2 in extra-time.
But his squad then ral li ed to take 10 points fr om their final six games to clinch seventh spot.
Nuno, under contract until 2021, added: “As soon as we felt comfortable enough, we were ready to compete against any team – and we kept on progressing.
“We had ups and downs, but now have to be more consistent, and avoid situations where not performing well in two or three matches can create a bad moment.”