Nuno: No regrets but I take responsibility for Wolves' FA Cup exit
Nuno Espirito Santo has no regrets over his team selection but accepts responsibility for Wolves' toothless FA Cup exit to Southampton.
Having the opportunity to reach the quarter-finals, Wolves instead slumped to a much-deserved 2-0 defeat to the Saints amid six changes to the starting line-up.
On why he went for a shuffled-around team and whether he regrets doing so, Nuno said: "It’s not about regrets. It’s how you decide it. We want to find more things for our team.
"Playing with four midfielders showed a clear intention to control, but at the same time give moments to young players that can then give us better performances in the future.
"Solutions for the team. It was about trying to find other options inside of our shape – four midfielders. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t work out. It didn’t work out.
"We have to have all the games in mind and give the young players chances to make them grow. There’s many things that we have to assess.
"It’s not about regret, it’s about knowing the intention that we had, assuming it will go well. So, this is my responsibility of course."
Southampton took the lead through Danny Ings and finally got a second in stoppage time as John Ruddy's mistake was capitalised upon by Stuart Armstrong.
"It’s very disappointing because we wanted to go through, that was everybody’s wish," said Nuno.
"It's frustrating. We're out of a competition we wanted, mainly because we didn't compete so well.
"We didn't produce enough chances. We were organised, but we weren't enough of a threat and conceded easy goals, so I'm disappointed.
"Everybody needs to do more as when tough moments come, we need the best of each one of us. Everybody needs to improve.
"Our approach to the game is not based on what our opponent is. We have to assume that we are better than them. We do that with respect.
"We have tasks that we have to do and we have to compete better in every aspect. We have to be more aggressive and win more duels – things that Southampton do very well."
Wolves only registered one shot on target all night, and Nuno added: "It's a big concern, among the others we have. We didn't produce enough, so we'll keep trying.
"We must improve the individual performances of the players as they can do much better."
