Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui not getting carried away after Everton win
Julen Lopetegui is calling for his Wolves players not to get carried away after the win over Everton as their relegation battle continues.
The 95th-minute Rayan Ait-Nouri winner handed Wolves their first away victory this season and lifted them from the bottom of the division.
Lopetegui has consistently spoken about instilling belief and confidence in this team and he hopes the win will help, but has urged them to keep the same mentality regardless of the result.
“It’s important for us because this team has suffered a lot in the last few months,” Lopetegui said.
“We have worked very hard in the last month thinking of this match. Now it’s finished we are happy, but it’s finished.
“We have to continue working a lot. We suffered a lot of crosses at the end of this match and Toti did very well.
“It’s always important for the team to win, but we are going to lose matches and we have to be ready to continue working hard. If we win or lose, we have to be ready the next day with a big character to continue working.
“It will be a very long race and we have to be ready for the good and bad moments.”
In his opening two games, Lopetegui has shown a willingness to make early substitutions to help Wolves recover or make an impact on the fixture – as he did in the Carabao Cup win over Gillingham.
Ait-Nouri, Matheus Nunes and Adama Traore all came on in the 59th minute at Goodison Park and the trio combined to score the winning goal with a swift counter-attack.
The head coach insists that every player on a match day is essential and that he is keen for his bench to be ready to come on and change a game.
“All the changes are because we think we can improve in something,” Lopetegui added. “The players that came on are working with a big mentality.
“When you have a line-up, the players on the bench are key and they have to be ready.”
