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Bruno Lage issues apology to Wolves supporters after West Ham defeat

Bruno Lage has apologised to the Wolves supporters and called on his players to show them more respect after the 2-0 loss to West Ham.

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Following a dismal defeat at the London Stadium, only five players approached the angry travelling supporters to thank them for making the trip, as Lage and the remaining players headed down the tunnel.

Now, the head coach has issued an apology to those supporters and says he will speak to his players about showing them more appreciation in the future.

“They need to respect the fans, because the fans have been there since the first minute to support us,” Lage said.

“The only thing I can say is that I’m sorry about the situation. We’ve tried to solve these little problems we have and at the moment we aren’t getting points or goals, but we are working hard for them.

“We can promise that we will talk about that because the fans are the most important thing for the club. They are the soul of the club. We go to the pitch to run for them.

“They are there to support us and I feel there support. In the end, we need to show respect to our fans and go there to say thank you for the support they are giving.”

With just one win from eight Premier League games this season, Lage is under increasing pressure as Wolves slip into the relegation zone. When asked if he feels that pressure for his position, Lage said: “I feel pressure since the first day I came, that’s why I make pressure for everyone. To bring the players as soon as possible to adapt to the country and in the new system we are playing. Sometimes when you look at the situation with a manager you need to forget it, the question will be whether we have a striker fit to play 90 minutes.

“We need to continue to work hard and find the solutions. This is the momentum. We don’t have strikers and players go to the national team and get injured, like Hwang.

“It looks like everything goes wrong and we need to turn it around with hard work.”

Skipper Ruben Neves also pulled no punches in a post-match interview. The midfielder, who will now miss the trip to Chelsea through suspension, seemed to imply that he is unhappy with the standard of training among the squad and that they must do more to help their manager.

Neves said: “We need to stop talking about performances. We always try to play our best to win but it is not enough. We need to make sure everyone goes on the same path. It is time to look to ourselves. What we are doing in the Premier League is not enough.

“If you don’t train like you play you will not be able to win enough games at the weekend. The good thing is we still have time to change this. Everyone, including me, can give a little bit more. We are not in good form so something needs to change. It is not the manager’s responsibility it is everyone. We are the ones that can get the results. It is about us not anybody else. We struggled a bit in the beginning with a lot of new players, a lot of players going out, but no more excuses.”

Wolves were also dealt another injury blow when Pedro Neto came off in the first half holding his ankle. He was then seen wearing a protective boot. Lage added: “I think it was a bad injury. Pedro is very important and Adama also came from an injury and the programme for him was just to play 30 or 35 minutes. Lets see what can happen, I don’t have all the information.”