Wolves boss Bruno Lage: No pressure on Ruben Neves to score

The fan-favourite has netted some wonderful long-range goals for the club, including several free-kicks.

But his last strike from outside the box was in February 2020 when his volley helped Wolves to a 4-0 victory over Espanyol in the Europa League.

Last season he struggled with free-kicks and long-range efforts, but when asked if he will work on improving that aspect in Neves’ game, Lage said: “I don’t spend time on those things. The most important thing, as I said about Raul (Jimenez), is confidence. We are here to help everyone.

“I don’t say anything to Ruben.

“I think it’s better not to create pressure – they know their responsibility towards Wolves in the Premier League.

“We don’t need to put pressure on these guys because they know. The pressure comes from within.

“For me, I put pressure on myself all the time. I don’t need pressure from outside.

“The players are the same. Every time they want to do better. If we start putting pressure on them – ‘You have to score goals from free-kicks’ – if you score 10 goals from outside the box, then I don’t care if you don’t score free-kicks!

“The most important thing is go out there, enjoy the game.

“You have a responsibility to play your role. So don’t make too much pressure because they already have pressure.”

Meanwhile, Wolves are still waiting to hear whether Raul Jimenez will be available to play against Watford on Saturday.

The club faces sanctions for stopping the forward from going on international duty with Mexico, who are on the coronavirus red list.

If Jimenez had travelled, he would miss both the Watford and Brentford fixtures due to isolation rules and as a result, Wolves stopped him from leaving. However, Mexico requested Fifa to impose sanctions on Wolves which could mean Jimenez is banned for the Watford game – while they may also face fines.

Wolves are still waiting to hear on the outcome as the Premier League and Fifa try to come to an agreement.