Wolves boss Bruno Lage: It’s a bad break for us
Bruno Lage admits the international break has come at a frustrating time with Wolves hungry to maintain their resurgence.
Back-to-back wins over Southampton and Newcastle have seen Lage’s team jump onto mid-table but the boss is now working with a skeleton squad with a host of senior players away from Compton Park.
Six of the starting XI from last weekend’s 2-1 victory over the Magpies, including two-goal hero Hwang Hee-chan, won’t return until just before the derby against Villa on Saturday week. Lage hopes the break will not disrupt Wolves’ rhythm.
“We played very well against Man United (in August) and then we had the break. Now we play very well against Newcastle and we have another break,” he said.
“I prefer to keep the players with me and to continue training to improve, but in the same way we are proud to see our players go to play for the national team.”
Hwang, who has scored three times in four Premier League appearances since joining on a season-long loan from RB Leipzig, will feature for South Korea in World Cup qualifiers against Syria and Iran.
Lage claims work on the training ground has been key to improved results after Wolves lost four of their first five Premier League matches.
“The way the guys worked all week, it gave us the feeling and confidence to go to Molineux (on Saturday), a special place,” he said.
“It is a good environment with our fans and that is the most important thing.
“I want to get feelings from the week of work and the guys gave me that, that’s why I believe a lot in training.
“If the training comes with motivation, it gives me feelings and we saw good things with our two goals (against Newcastle( in identical situations. This all comes from training.”
