Wolves boss Nuno out to finish Europa League with a flourish

Wolves, who started out in the second qualifying round against Crusaders last July, are now on the cusp of the quarter-finals.

They are taking on Olympiacos at Molineux aiming to seal a spot in the eight-team mini-tournament, which starts in Germany next week.

“The players know from day one, each game is a game to compete, to put all the energy we have into that game, and the players have been doing that,” said Nuno, having begun the journey 378 days ago.

“We want to continue, we know that it’s game by game, but we really desire because it’s been an amazing experience for everybody.”

Wolves finished second in their group and beat Espanyol in the last 32.

The first leg against Greek champions Olympiacos ended 1-1 – back in March because of Covid-19.

Reflecting on the road so far, Nuno said: “Of course, we made progress.

“We just have to compare how we do things from the first season to the second season, and the players have been unbelievable since day one, like everybody knows.

“We started before everybody and hopefully we are going to finish after everybody, that’s credit to our players.”

Nuno was also keen to highlight the togetherness of his group as they aim to take another huge step.

The Wolves chief has been unable to see his family because of travel restrictions during the pandemic, and is not the only one who has been separated from loved ones.

But he said: “We have the support of each other. We stick together through this situation since we’ve been back.

“We’ve been able to take care of each other with the respect for the virus. We didn’t have, fortunately, any infection. That says a lot.

“We respect and admire each other, and we have to support not only the players from abroad but the English players, too.

“I truly believe that it’s hard to create what they have – strong bonds among them – and this is our best foundation.

“This is our biggest foundation as a group. The respect and admiration.”