Nuno: Wolves have lost that winning feeling
Nuno Espirito Santo admits the winning mentality Wolves had last season has been lost and says they must ‘regain that feeling again’.
Going into the clash with Arsenal on an eight-game winless run and with just 23 points from 21 Premier League games in 2020/21, this is without doubt the most difficult spell under Nuno and a far cry from previous seasons.
Little over 12 months ago, the now-departed Matt Doherty – after beating then-reigning top-flight champions Manchester City at Molineux – spoke of how the Portuguese made them ‘feel we can’t lose a game’.
On whether that belief has been lost been lost this campaign, Nuno said: “Yes.”
Asked why, he explained: “Because we cannot be crazy and not recognise at this moment we don’t have the same strength and the power which makes you believe.
“Belief comes from what you feel and we don’t have that – it would be absurd to have that feeling because it would hide the reality of things.
“We had that and we were looking for those seasons over and over again, and the belief was there.
“Now we don’t have that consistency in our game that can make us believe we can beat anyone.
“We have to regain that feeling again. How we do it is what we are trying to do now.
“We focus, reorganise ourselves and be strong again. Don’t go searching for that feeling that we can beat anyone.
“Let’s find ourselves now and then try to build on that feeling, and that spirit again.”
On their longest winless streak under Nuno, it has been a worrying slide over the past couple of months.
And the Wolves chief reiterated how much he has missed the fans being at games, even though his side may have come in for some boos as of late.
“Because they are fair, you know what I mean by that. Football was made to be seen in stadiums,” said Nuno.
“When you see football on TV the camera follows the ball and for me, you don’t see the game, you don’t feel the game. You only see what the camera shows you.
“That’s why I believe fans – all over the world – are the fairest judges of your performance because they are there in the stadium and they feel it.
“They are sincere and honest, during and after games, they are honest when they share their feelings.
“When you play well and win you celebrate together, when you play good and don’t win they are fair to you because they see the whole game and all the actions of all the players. This is what we miss.”
A fair amount of Wolves fans have expressed their frustration on social media recently, especially on Twitter.
Nuno no longer uses the platform but understands the criticism aimed towards him, even though he feels the most true reaction would usually be the one from a packed Molineux at the end of a game.
“I’m sorry but I cannot talk much on that – and you never know who is behind that, you never know who is writing that,” he said.
“The fair judge in football is the end of the game – good or bad. After, you go home and you write something.
“The criticism is totally fair – the only question or the only issue I have is who is behind it?
“Criticism is totally fair, I deal well with that. If those are the same people who wrote fantastic things a while ago then that’s even more fair.
“But if these are new, who only come now, then that is not fair. If they are only coming on now then I have to ask why?”
Nuno added on Wolves’ predicament: “You can call it momentum, you can call it bad luck, you can call it mistakes, you can call it doubts, you can call it lack of confidence, whatever.
“Call it what you want, it’s reality. We have to grow. We have to be strong.”
