Nuno: Solving Wolves' first half no shows 'an obsession'
Nuno Espirito Santo admits solving the problem of Wolves’ first half no shows has become “an obsession” as he targets a strong finish to the Premier League season.
Saturday’s 0-0 derby draw at Villa was the latest match in which Wolves struggled during the opening 45 minutes before improving markedly after the break.
Villa hit the bar twice in the first half through Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa but a resurgent Wolves then hit the post through Conor Coady, with Romain Saiss somehow putting the rebound over the bar from barely a yard out.
Nuno admitted his team’s slow starts are becoming a serious source of frustration.
He said: “I get asked and I keep thinking why, why, why? The intentions are always good.
“We have a gameplan and the words are always to take the ball and have confidence to take control of the game.
“Credit to Villa, in the first half they created problems with the runs from deep.
“There are a lot of aspects but I wish I knew. It is something we are obsessed with, really. We will reach it because we will work together on it.
“We must find the why and try to reach the how so that we can perform all the game.”
While the draw left Wolves facing an uphill challenge to break into the top half before the end of the season, they have now only lost once in seven Premier League matches and Nuno has taken heart in their recent progress.
He continued: “We have a lot of targets (between now and the end of the season). There is a lot of football to be played. This is one of them but we still have many things we need to improve.
“I’m very fair on the players. We came through a tough situation and we have been able to come out of it without conflict, working as a unit and that is the spirit which is going to sustain us. We have identity and work as a team in every moment.”
Skipper Coady admitted Wolves cannot keep relying on their second half performances.
He said: “It needs to stop. It is hard to put your finger on it. We spoke about it at half-time.
“We were too far away from Villa and giving the ball away. It was our sloppiness. If we play more like the second half for the whole game we will win more games.”
