Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui: There is no space for complacency

Following wins over Liverpool and Southampton, Wolves failed to follow those results up as they lost 1-0 at home to struggling Bournemouth.

A frustrated Lopetegui says Wolves’ recent resurgence is ‘not enough’ in the aftermath of their disappointing defeat.

He said: “When I arrived here we were at the bottom and now we are in the middle of the fight.

“There’s no space for complacency. We won two matches but it’s not enough, we have to fight for 40 points. There’s a lot of points in front of us.

“We know it’s very hard to get points in this league, that’s why you are able to win each match and lose against any team.

“This is football and this is the Premier League level.

“We have to learn and continue to work for the next match.

“To have the ball with more of an intention to open the pitch, play wide and be patient.

“We needed to do a lot of passes in the opponent’s half and when you do that you are closer to scoring or having a good chance.

“If not, it’s easier for the opponent always. That’s why we’re a little bit frustrated in this moment.

“I don’t think we managed the match in a good way and we have to learn.”

Adama Traore gained plenty of plaudits for his display on the weekend and was considered by many to be Wolves’ best performer.

However, he was taken off in the 77th minute with Wolves chasing an equaliser – a decision Lopetegui has been criticised for by supporters.

“It’s because we wanted to play with two forwards and we needed our full-backs to arrive and Adama was a little bit tired,” Lopetegui said when asked why Adama was taken off.

“We needed another kind of player in this moment. They (the full-backs) had space to run and that’s why I made the change.”

Once they took the lead, Bournemouth used time wasting tactics to see the game through – but Lopetegui laid no blame at the referee’s door.

He added: “I don’t want to sit here talking about the referee, I prefer to talk about the things we have to improve as a team. We have to be able to manage this kind of situation as it will happen again.

“We suffered a goal and our reaction can be better. It was a bad day for us and we have to be balanced and start working towards the next match.”