Wolves head coach calls for fans' 'love' for struggling forward
Vitor Pereira has called on Wolves supporters to show struggling Hwang Hee-chan more 'love' and help him find his form.
The South Korean forward has failed to find the same consistency that saw him score 12 Premier League goals last season, notching just two this campaign, which has resulted in criticism from fans.
Some supporters have condemned the decision to bring him on in games earlier in the season, while at the weekend fans sarcastically cheered when he was taken off following a poor performance against Championship side Bristol City.
Pereira is now urging the Wolves faithful to get behind Hwang and help him get back to his best.
"He needs love to start to score," Pereira said.
"He's our player, he has top conditions and as a supporter and a coach, we need to give him confidence to be himself.
"If he plays at his level, he can help us a lot. This is my message."
The forward missed two huge chances in the FA Cup at the weekend before receiving that reaction from the away fans, and Pereira has also called on the player to cut out the noise and find his confidence.
Pereira added: "He missed the goal and I looked at his face and the body language, and I said to him that the best strikers that I worked with in my career, when they missed the goal it was nothing for them.
"They know next time they will score - it must be like this.
"The confidence doesn't come from what people say, never. A lot of people say bad things, other people say good things, but the confidence comes from inside of us.
"If I'm confident, I know I will make mistakes but I will correct the mistakes and next time I have the chance not to do it again.
"When I run to the next ball, I will open my body at the right angle, I will receive the ball and I will make a pass into the goal.
"This is a confident player, a confident man. This is what I want to pass to him, the confidence.
"Not what I read or listen to, because it's normal, football is football. This is a job, as a player and coach, that gets criticised.
"But the confidence comes from inside.
"When someone tells me something is impossible, this is my challenge, I will do it for sure."
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.