Nuno pleased with Wolves youngsters

With injuries piling up, the Portuguese handed starts to Fabio Silva, Vitinha and Owen Otasowie in Monday's Black Country derby at Albion, while Rayan Ait-Nouri carried on at left-back.

They all impressed in the 1-1 draw, with Silva scoring while Vitinha was voted the supporters' man of the match, and Nuno was hugely encouraged by how they stepped up on such an important occasion.

"We had a lot of young players who hadn't started many games," he said.

"They had the chance, and they did well. They worked well, good details.

"There are a lot of things to improve still, especially on the tasks we assigned to the players – they must complete them until the end of the game.

"But, overall, it was very, very good. It’s about taking their chances and they will have chances before the end of the season.

"Having such young players fighting against a tough opponent like West Brom showed they will improve."

Playmaker Vitinha and full-back Ait-Nouri are both on loan and hoping to win permanent deals in the summer.

On Silva, who grabbed his fourth goal of the season, Nuno said: "Fabio did well. We must analyse all season what happened, with our team and our young players.

"Fabio is among them and he had a good game. I truly believe Fabio, with his talent, in the moment he is able to match the physical part of the game which is required in the Premier League, he will become better."

Academy product Otasowie – a central midfielder by trade – played as a right winger, and Nuno added: "Versatility is one of the aspects we regard the most.

"We had the option to go in another shape and having versatile players is something we will continue to work on.

"We are giving the players chances to play because we want them to improve. They have been with us since the beginning.

"They were able to use this chance for their own purpose, to become better players, while we build."