Interview: No stone left unturned by Nuno in search of Wolves success
It's been a far better start to the season than most were predicting for Wolves.
League wins over Middlesbrough and Derby, two teams tipped to be in the promotion mix, both without conceding a goal, have surprised many.
But Nuno Espirito Santo is anything but surprised.
The hours, days and weeks he's overseen on the training ground with relentless, monotonous drills on team shape and organisation – plus the manner in which his players were embracing his ideas – led him to believe the team were ready.
The first week of the season, he says, justifies the thorough and detailed approach he and his methodical backroom staff have taken.
"It makes me say this is the way we should go," a relaxed Nuno said at yesterday's pre-Hull press conference.
"From the moment we embraced this project of Wolves we’ve been working really hard.
"We knew that no matter what opponent we would have tough competition and a tough job to do.
"The boys are working hard to be able to now perform this way and be able to play the way we want to.
"We’re happy but at the same time we don’t lose a sense of the responsibility we have.
"Every day is a very important day of work."
Eleven new signings have been successfully integrated into a squad that was playing a very different style of football last season.
That's not to mention employing a three-at-the-back formation, which hasn't been seen regularly at Molineux in 20 years since the days of Mark McGhee.
While no one is getting carried away, the boss is pleased with the speed with which his philosophy has been taken on board – by the whole squad.
"It’s good," he added. "The trust and confidence that they have acquired from each game, each training session, tells us they enjoy what they’re doing.
"It’s not about always having the ball. It’s a challenge for us that we have to improve how we’re solid in defence and we help each other in the tasks of the team.
"Every player is so important of every minute of a training session. The internal competition for a place in a starting XI shows we have a good group, first of all of men that are working very hard.
"(Before we came) we already knew about the Championship. Nowadays there are a lot of tools that we have that are able to show us. This is a job that the coaching team had before the beginning, trying to know almost all opponents, trying to get the characteristics and studying them.
"It’s important to know who you’re going to compete with and who you’re going to face.
"You can see by the results, not only our games, but the results we have in these tools.
"Internal competition for a place in the team, but also in the squad. What it tells me is that no matter what choices we make they’ll be made with a lot of thinking.
"We have other options. It’s for us to decide, for us to pick the right one. We prepared this before, we knew what calendar we’d have
" So the players are ready to play Saturday/Tuesday because they’ve worked very hard in pre-season with a lot of hours on the pitch."
Jordan Graham and David Edwards were two of the high-profile casualties on Saturday after being left out the squad.
Edwards misses out again for tonight's trip to face Hull City after picking up an injury on Sunday, but Nuno insisted every single player would play their part this season.
"It’s what I’ve been telling them, not only them but everybody, be able to fight so hard," he added.
"Everybody is important, not only the players who start, or are on the bench, or are at Compton, but all the people here at club and all the fans – everybody is important.
"This is the wolf pack. It’s so important everyone gives a moment of help for the players to perform better."
"We should never ignore that every help is required.
"Edwards had a problem yesterday in training and isn’t able to join the squad at Hull.
"Fortunately we have players coming back from their injuries.
"I still believe that when everybody is ready the more options the coach has the better the team will be.
Nuno takes his unbeaten team to the KCOM Stadium calling for his players to be proud of being 'a wolf'.
The Portuguese boss has overseen a perfect start to the campaign with three victories and three clean sheets.
Hull beat Burton 4-1 on Saturday and the head coach admitted his side were in for another tough test.
But he promised Wolves' travelling army of at least 1,200 that they would fight for every ball.
"One thing I can promise to the fans is that every ball is going to be important for us," he said.
"If the fans see this in their own players, this fighting, and trying to play at the same time, they will always be with us.
"(Me and my staff) are not here for anyone else. It’s for the players that we work, that we try to give them the joy to be in the team, joy in the way we perform.
"And for everybody to be proud of being a wolf."
Many of the players have spoken publicly about embracing Nuno's passing philosophy and Wolves' 3-4-3 formation.
The 43-year-old: "I’m really pleased. New ideas, new methods, new drills...sometimes they are surprised doing some things.
"But everything has a point, everything has a ‘why’, everything has hours and hours of hard work behind it to provide them with the things that we think are better for them so they’re ready to perform."
Nuno has named the same XI for his two league games but may make changes tonight given the quick turnaround, although he pleased with their fitness levels.
He added: "The players are okay. On this kind of calendar, playing Saturday/Tuesday, recovery is very important and giving time for the player to fully recover for the next match.
"That, we’ll be able to do. It’s not only what the players do here at Compton, it’s also that they respect themselves at home with their rest and sleep.
"If we are able to control all these details we’ll be ready for tomorrow."
If Nuno gets his way they'll be ready for anything.
