Classy Ruben Neves salutes his Wolves team-mates
Top performer Ruben Neves says his Wolves team-mates have given him the confidence to get back to his best.
Neves has been superb since the Premier League’s restart, with his displays in the middle of the park helping to maintain the push for Europa League football.
Those mightily-impressive outings may well have put him into player of the season contention – as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side look to seal a European spot against Chelsea on Sunday – but the humble Portuguese insists the credit must go to his fellow Wolves stars.
“Football is all about confidence, and the team is helping me to have that confidence,” said Neves.
“I feel that we are playing good. Since the restart, we have been doing a great job.
“But there is still one more game to go, and if I can help the team, I’ll be really, really happy. That’s my main goal.”
Neves has made a marked improvement in terms of his off-the-ball work – closing down and tackling – while his passing has become even more crisp.
Wolves, as a whole, have made progress, too. They have already bettered their points total from last season as they prepare for a huge game at Chelsea.
A win will secure a Europa spot, and Neves said on the trip to Stamford Bridge: “It doesn’t matter where we play or the opponent that we play, we always think game by game and try to win every single game.
“We’ve had some hard wins this season, away from home for example, against big teams.
“So, we’ll try to do our best get the three points, like we always do, from this game.”
After Sunday, though, Wolves still have their current Europa campaign to think about.
They take on Olympiacos at Molineux on August 6 in the last 16. And if they win that, they will head to Germany for the mini-tournament which will conclude the competition.
If Wolves win the Europa, they will get into the Champions League, and club great John Richards believes they can go all the way.
Richards – part of the side which reached the Uefa Cup final in 1972 – said: “They’ve still got the Europa and I fancy them in that, I really do.
“They’ve got the type of players that, in a knockout situation, can perform.
“They’ve got the style of players for that, so they’ve got another chance at the Champions League. It’s a second bite with the Europa League. Fingers crossed.”
Meanwhile, captain Conor Coady has heaped praise on forward Daniel Podence, after he scored his first Wolves goal in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday.
“Daniel’s goal was brilliant,” he said.
“Lovely little pass from Joao (Moutinho), and he deserves all the plaudits he gets because it’s a brilliant pass, and obviously Doc (Matt Doherty) being in that place where we’ve seen him so often – the right place at the right time.
“It was a brilliant goal and important for Daniel because he’s come to the club and popped up now with a great goal. It was a great result for everybody and we move on to Sunday now.”
Podence’s header came just before half-time in a spell where the visitors had the better chances and Coady insists the timing was important.
“It’s always a good time to score, when it’s just at the end of the first–half,” he added. “To go into half-time with a lead is important, it gives you something to hold on to, and I thought second–half we managed it, but still with a threat as well.
“That was pleasing as well, it was a great night all round. We knew how tough it is coming up against Palace from last season, but I think we’ve learnt from that and you saw second-half how we managed it.”
