Nuno praises his Wolves stars for adjustment to Europa League
Nuno Espirito Santo has hailed his Wolves players for how they have coped in the ‘very demanding’ Europa League so far.
Nuno’s lot are in action at Espanyol tonight, looking to see things through and make it to the last 16 after winning the first leg 4-0.
Teams tend to struggle to cope with the tough schedule which comes with the Europa – either dropping off in the league or struggling in the competition – but Wolves have thrived in both.
And when asked about them bucking the trend, Nuno said: “I wouldn’t say we’ve not suffered, it’s been tough with a tight schedule, very demanding on the players.
“But I think the credit is on them – the way they compete, the way they prepare themselves to compete – but it’s tough, very tough.
“When you see the schedule; we play Europa and then only have two days before we have to play a tough game always in the Premier League, so it’s been very demanding.
“The credit is for the players, it’s for the staff, but the players buying, believing and working very hard is what makes things go well.”
Barring a miraculous turnaround from the Barcelona-based side, Wolves will be in the next stage of the Europa and will find out their opponents in tomorrow’s draw.
But Nuno insists nothing is done yet, despite the healthy advantage from the first leg.
“I want the players to be focused, I want the players to adapt to the stadium of Espanyol,” he said. “I want them to make a good preparation for the game, and play good.
“That’s what I’m focusing on. The only thing I’m thinking about.
“The approach is the same. It doesn’t mean anything what we did before.
“This is a new game, a new challenge, new things will happen, so we have to compete well.
“It is 0-0. This is how we face it, and we are aware it’s going to be very tough.
“It’s a tough stadium to come to, and we have to be very focused.”
More than 2,000 fans are set to cheer Wolves on at the RCDE Stadium, and Nuno added: “We are very thankful. We are going to have our support, but it has been this way since the beginning.
“Our fans are amazing in the way they support the team and we are very thankful for that.”
