Express & Star

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui pleased with centre-back options

Julen Lopetegui is pleased with his centre-back options and 'balance' at the heart of the Wolves defence.

Published
Last updated

Craig Dawson has started the last two games since arriving from West Ham in January, with Wolves securing wins over both Liverpool and Southampton.

He has played alongside Max Kilman, with Nathan Collins on the bench and Toti Gomes not in the squad.

Wolves were eager to balance the squad in January and Lopetegui is pleased with his options.

He said: "It's a good balance for us, we needed two right centre-backs and two left centre-backs.

"We tried to have two players for each position. It's important because you don't know when you are going to lose a player.

"We have to be alert to which players are ready to play."

Collins had played well just before being dropped for Dawson and is yet to regain his place.

The partnership of Dawson and Kilman currently offers two centre-backs who are naturally right-footed and left-footed on each side – but Lopetegui says he is not put off the idea of playing two centre-backs with the same strengths.

He added: "We have played with Max and Toti at Nottingham Forest, two left-footed players. Why not?

"Sometimes when you play with two left centre-backs people are surprised, but a lot of teams play with two right centre-backs and it's normal.

"For me, it's the same. They have different characteristics because they have a different body shape to play, but in the end it's the same."

With two victories from the last two Premier League games, Wolves are riding high in 15th place.

Although fans are a lot more optimistic about avoiding relegation, Lopetegui does not want his team to be complacent and has challenged them to improve.

He said: "It's not enough. We have to continue working a lot and continue knowing that each team in the Premier League are able to beat you.

"All of the teams have fantastic players and a good coach, so we have to be at our top level to try to win each match.

"We have to get used to staying at our best level, that is very important to us."

When asked if he has a points target, he added: "No, the only aim that we want to achieve is three points in each match. No more.

"This is the only way that I know to go ahead in football, to look ahead to the next match.

"I repeat it a lot and a lot of coaches repeat the same, but it's true. We have to be focused on our daily work and think only about the next match."