O'Neil sees improvements in Wolves 2-1 Liverpool defeat

NicheSportMedia

O'Neil sees improvements in Wolves 2-1 Liverpool defeat  28/09/2024  Molinuex Stadium, Wolverhampton, UK

Transcript

00:00It's a bit harder to take having got yourself back in the game today, you can see the confidence

00:15so soon after.

00:16Yeah, the lads performed excellently, didn't they? I think they gave everything. We lost

00:23control and went off script for a minute, got carried away after we scored and go chasing

00:28things that we shouldn't. Opened the game up on one of the very few occasions that we

00:33did and as it's going for us at the minute we got badly punished for that lapse.

00:41And then of course there are some other things that we don't do perfectly. A bit too patient

00:47in build-up at the end when we're chasing the game, not patient enough around the box

00:51where we're trying to thread it through, sort of seven red shirts instead of going wide

00:54and giving Carlos his 1v1s and getting balls in the box. So some other bits in the game

01:00but in terms of a team going toe-to-toe with one of the biggest clubs in the country and

01:08giving them a real run and being us and showing what we are, I was proud of what the players

01:14gave. I think they deserve huge credit for their efforts. They deserve to be on more

01:19than one point for six games but that is the nature of the Premier League. So although

01:25we don't take points from our efforts so far, they deserve a lot of credit. As you saw from

01:30the reaction from the fans at the end, which is not a normal reaction to a team that's

01:34one point from six.

01:36You spoke a lot about how emotional the group is. Did you see that again in that moment,

01:41having got the equaliser to then concede the penalty?

01:44Yes, the error was born from emotion. OK, we've scored, let's go. Whereas when we were

01:55in a controlled shape and structure, as talented as our group is, you don't want to open the

02:02game up to crazy situations against Liverpool because they've got some real top talent that

02:08can hurt you. So we try to be aggressive but from a real good structure and understanding,

02:14which we weren't. We weren't sat back. I have huge belief and faith in the team and in myself

02:22that we can come up with plans that give us an opportunity to be aggressive when we're

02:26ready to and cause big teams problems. But we don't need to be gung-ho and wide open,

02:33which we were for a minute. When you're sat there trying to figure out what sort of changes

02:39to make now when we get to 1-1 and what it might look like for the next ten minutes,

02:44all of a sudden that situation is taken away from you in a heartbeat off of just an eagerness

02:49to go and run. But disappointed that they got badly punished for a very small part of

02:57the game that we lost our way in.

03:00Cameron's union on Mario in tears at the end of the game, was that just sheer frustration?

03:05I'm not sure. He's disappointed. Of course he hates losing, as we all do. But there is

03:14an understanding of where we are at this moment and what we have still been able...

03:21One point from six, you would expect a boo or cries for the manager to be changed or

03:32some negative reaction from a fan base. But what you see is them staying behind to clap

03:40their team because they see what they give. They show a good understanding of the situation

03:47at the football club. We've lost two starting centre-backs this week. We've rushed Totty

03:53back from a hamstring. We've just gone out and shown everyone what we are, the best we

03:59can be for as much of the game as possible. I'm disappointed that it didn't do enough

04:05to get us a result which we need and which we want. But I can only hold them accountable

04:12to what I think they could give. For me, they gave absolutely everything today and I'm gutted

04:18for them that they came up a bit short again. Was Craig Dawes ill?

04:25Yes. Craig was one of the ones with the virus so was still not feeling well at all today.

04:32Santibueno felt something in his glute. If we'd have not been behind, we'd have probably gone

04:38defender on to play in the back four. But obviously we were chasing so Mario's capable

04:45of playing there so getting Tommy on to try and find some passes might help us.

04:50But yes, a performance that the lads won't be because they're unbelievably disappointed but

04:55they should be proud of what they gave this evening. We need to keep going, which we will.

05:00They've suffered a lot over the last six games having always been ready to go again and we'll

05:07be ready to go again next week. We lost against Arsenal, we were ready from the off against Chelsea,

05:14lost against Chelsea, ready to go again, whether it's Nottingham Forest, ready against Newcastle,

05:19ready against Villa. And if anyone thought there was any hangover and we were feeling

05:23sorry for ourselves, that's what the lads are still ready to show. So I think they deserve

05:29a lot of credit for the way they performed this evening with the difficulty of the week that we've

05:32had on top of the situation. But of course, we need to make sure that we put some results

05:40on the board. I understand that, the lads understand that. But today was a good performance.

05:55Yes, I don't even class it as a situation. If we'd have played these last six games

06:02spread out across the season, it would feel nowhere near as bad as it does at this moment.

06:07So it's the start of the league. Things haven't gone as we would want them to.

06:16But no, the team, no Premier League game will be easy. So playing Brentford next week will be

06:21just as hard. And then when Crystal Palace come here or whatever it is after Manchester City,

06:26they'll be just as hard. But what I can guarantee is that and what you see is that the lads will

06:32always be ready to give everything and we will maximise, myself included, real belief in myself

06:37and in the group that we will maximise what we can achieve again this season. And whatever we

06:41do achieve will definitely be every last drop that we can get out of this group. Because that's

06:47the way they're built. That's what I ask of them. And we'll continue to do that the whole way through.

06:56What do you think of Andre's performance today and the challenge which got involved?

07:02I haven't seen it back. It looked like a good, strong tackle. But I can't see if it was slightly

07:08high or I haven't seen it in slow motion. So I only saw it from pitch side. It looked like one

07:14that you would have definitely, it would definitely have been deemed a good tackle a while ago, a few

07:18years ago. But yeah, I don't know. I don't know. But yeah, I thought he played well again. I thought

07:23he's obviously added quality to us. Makes us a little bit more solid in there with the three of

07:29them in there. Yeah, so lots of positives from Andre and his English is getting better. His

07:35understanding of what we do is getting better. And he got through the 90 minutes without looking

07:41too fatigued towards the end, which is an improvement for him. Obviously, when he first

07:44came, he suffered a little bit with cramp and stuff. So he's getting up to speed. Now we,

07:50yeah, I can't wait till Monday to get him back in, debrief the game,

07:54get back on the grass. Let's go. Let's get ready for Brentford.

07:59Your team selection has been quite consistent in the attacking position.

08:02Yeah.

08:02Just when you're Carlos, you saw something. A bit different what he can give you off the bench?

08:07Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'll have to watch it back to check all of his sort of

08:11moments and that. But I thought he gave us a threat. Yeah, I thought he did. There'll be

08:15some bits, I think, some bits that he can tidy up, some probably bits that he won't be

08:19overly pleased with. But you can see he does give us a threat different to JJ. So

08:23nothing against JJ today. Obviously, I'll take him off quite early,

08:28but just felt we needed a little bit more impetus on the side. And maybe Carlos is fresh legs. And

08:34when people come off there, they're always disappointed and they take it personally.

08:37But it never is. I love JJ, love what he gives. He's had a good start to the season for us. But

08:43I just felt that Carlos's pace and directness would help us today. And I didn't want to leave

08:48it till 65 minutes to see it. I just felt it was something that we could try and add early.

08:54And obviously, it sort of helps us, gave us a little bit of impetus. He had a part to play in

08:59the goal. And then unfortunately, as we've already discussed, we managed to hand the

09:04initiative back to them fairly quickly. Thank you, guys. Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended