"I'm not giving him what he deserves" - Wolves midfielder fighting for his chance
Vitor Pereira admits Boubacar Traore deserves more minutes this season after making his Wolves comeback.
The midfielder has been missing all season with a serious knee injury but has returned to the fold in recent weeks before finally getting his first taste of action when he came off the bench against Bournemouth in the FA Cup.
Traore was overlooked against Fulham when Doyle - who Pereira says will not play as a midfielder for him - came on in the middle of the park.
Pereira has now explained that tactical decision and admits Traore deserves more chances in the first team.
"If you are in the game and you need to score, Bouba is a defensive midfielder, he's not a player to create, offensively speaking," Pereira said.
"Tommy Doyle can give something special in the cross, in the through pass.
"But I like Boubacar a lot because he's a player with the spirit that I like.
"In training, he gives everything of him. He's the kind of player that I feel that I'm not giving him what he deserves, but sometimes we have this problem.
"As a coach, sometimes we have this problem. We know that he deserves, but until now I didn't find the space and the time to give him what he deserves."
Pereira likes the 'fighter' in Traore and the head coach will need those characteristics for Wolves' Premier League relegation battle.
Nelson Semedo has brought calmness to his spell as captain and Pereira says he trusts his players and the group's leaders to sort out any issues they have for the rest of the season.
“If we have leaders in the team, we don't need to be every time at the scene," Pereira said.
"I like to give my players confidence, organisation, and in between they solve the problems. When the problem comes to me, it means that they didn't solve the problem.
"But if you have leaders, it’s easier to command and my leadership is easier, and we have this kind of player in our team.
“A lot of times it’s a matter of seconds, and they need to decide for themselves. They need to play without the coach, because I don't like to command the team, the team has to be intelligent or to manage the pace of the game, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. This is maturity.
"I go out of the box to see what happens. It takes time to understand the leaders, but in the act, we will find them.”
Wolves take on Everton at Molineux tomorrow evening before travelling to relegation rivals Southampton.
After the international break Wolves then host West Ham before a trip to Ipswich in some early April crunch clashes.
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