Lage points to telling stat after revealing Wolves will not deviate from path

Bruno Lage in Wolves friendly vs Stoke in July 2021

Bruno Lage has backed his Wolves side to continue playing their attacking brand of football and is confident it will reap rewards in the long run.

The West Midlanders came away empty handed at Molineux on Sunday as Spurs pulled off a 1-0 success. Dele Alli netted from the spot after he had been fouled by goalkeeper Jose Sa. It looked a soft penalty. And, despite all their efforts, Wolves could not find a way through.

It was a similar scenario in the season opener as Jamie Vardy scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 loss to Leicester. Wolves played well on that occasion as well but Lage was not looking for any sympathy.


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“I have the feeling that someone asked the same question last week,” he told BBC Sport.  “I don’t want to go in that way, what I want to say is this is the way we want to play and that is why we are working hard all week.”

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Wolves have yet to take a point this campaign. But the Portuguese coach pointed to a statistic proving that it is not for the want of trying.

“We did well, the game stayed in our hands for 90 minutes,” he added. “We had 25 attempts to score one goal – and in two games we have 42 – and we didn’t score, so in the end I am happy with the performance but not the result.”

Lage staying positive in defeat

Wolves struggled to match their previous high standards in 2020-2021. Nuno Espirito Santo gave way to Lage and praised his former side after guiding new club Spurs to victory.

There is a strong sense that the Black Country outfit are not too far away from hitting top form. Raul Jimenez is now back in the ranks and was cheered every time he touched the ball.

Lage appeared frustrated but upbeat after the latest loss. And he has made it clear there will be no change of tactics after just two games of the season.

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“We are challenging the players to play in this way and we need to continue to work and score goals,” he added. “If we play like that and create, chances are going to be good, that is the way we want to play.”

Wolves next league outing is Sunday’s visit of Manchester United while they play Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

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