Bruno Lage: Wolves win will breed confidence

A double from Hwang Hee-chan – both set up beautifully by Raul Jimenez – made it an old gold victory at Molineux.

That attacking pair linked up well all afternoon and Lage was delighted with what he saw – and says it will only add to the belief among the squad.

On the two goals, Lage said: "That's the dynamic we want to create. When you look at our goals, it's not just about Raul and Hwang, we want to see how they start.

"We are happy with that, that's our way to play.

"When you find that space in-between the lines, you have to have those kind of players that can receive the ball and the other guys to attack the space. That's the dynamic we want.

"It's very hard to defend it. Newcastle also did this very well, they blocked our defensive line and found the spaces in-between the lines.

"That was the plan, to try to push and open more of the spaces. It was very good because we worked all week on that situation.

"It brings more confidence as the players start to believe more in our work."

The Newcastle goal came in controversial fashion as Jose Sa was injured when he scooped the ball away from Joelinton's feet, before the visitors continued play and scored through Jeff Hendrick.

Sa stayed on the floor initially before trying to get to his feet as Hendrick shot. The goal stood and Lage was furious on the touchline – and he was booked for his troubles.

And the Wolves boss does not believe the goal should have been given.

He added: "I think our goalkeeper spent too much time on the floor for the game to continue.

"The game continued and we had the ball in our possession. We lost the ball and they shot on our goal without our goalkeeper.

"It was too much time and we can see what happened with Jose. It was a challenge on the floor and you never know what happens."

Although Wolves were not spectacular, they controlled large parts of the game and defended well in the second half to secure back-to-back wins.

For Lage, he was pleased with how they managed the occasion to send Wolves on a high into the international break.

"The first 45 minutes was very good on our part, we controlled all the game," he said.

"Since the first minute we had that feeling that we were going to win that game. From the way we are playing, the way we are training all week and after we started the game with support from our fans.

"It was a good feeling for the 90 minutes and we created a lot of chances. We looked at Newcastle and how they tried to play against us with the line of four and then the line of five.

"I think we found, every time, the right spaces to go. When you look back at the way we scored the two goals, it's a good feeling for our side.

"I think we did a good performance. Today we had more time on the ball and played with big confidence to manage the ball, playing against a team who, when they start losing, begin to press but we had the confidence to continue with the ball.

"After the goal they scored we came to the second half in the same way, to not be afraid to have the ball, especially if we need to go back to our goalkeeper – we will create our chances.

"The players did that very well and we created the best chances to win the game."