Nuno Espírito Santo is facing his toughest – and arguably first – slump in results since taking charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers after their winless run was extended to six matches this weekend.
Fábio Silva scored his first Premier League goal in the local derby against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, but a 3-2 defeat at the Molineux Stadium means Wolves have won just once and taken five points from their last nine matches in the English top flight.
18-year-old striker Silva showed good composure to level the score at 1-1 in the first half against West Brom, and Wolves even went into half time 2-1 up thanks to Willy Boly’s goal. However, Nuno’s side conceded twice after the break, leaving the former Porto boss facing questions about how he will turn the team’s fortunes around.
“We are all disappointed,” he told reporters. “We are aware that it’s not a good moment for us, it’s a bad moment, and a lot of things are going wrong. We have to react to it and work very hard for the next one.
“We think that [a back four] is better for us when you consider the players that we have, we feel the formation suits us better, but it’s time to analyse and see the next steps forward.
“It’s the moment to analyse the squad and prepare the next one. The solution is here with us, we must find better solutions and better players,” said Nuno, whose team are in 14th place.
“We didn’t do what we should do”
“We’re disappointed, frustrated about the way we played and the result. The game was about the beginning of the second-half and we started very poorly.
“We didn’t do a good game. It was not the best performance. We didn’t achieve a good result, and disappointing because it meant a lot for us, for our fans and we didn’t do what we should do.”
Wolves’ season has no doubt been hampered by the absence of star striker Raul Jimenez, who suffered a serious head injury during the 2-1 victory over Arsenal in November. The loss of former Benfica man Jimenez has resulted in Fábio Silva being asked to lead the line regularly, and his first league goal was a small positive from Saturday’s defeat.
“[Fábio] already scored before, but if he works hard, he will do good,” Nuno said of the youngster. “It’s not about confidence, as he has the support of all of us, because he’s a talented player. He had good chances and he scored the goal, so we’ll keep supporting him and trying to improve him.”
❄️ Ice cool from @Silva_Fabio ❄️pic.twitter.com/m6ZEKSNcNe
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 16, 2021
Prior to the weekend, newspaper reports had suggested that Nuno’s agent Jorge Mendes was making plans for his client to leave Wolves in the summer after four years at the helm, with another job in the Premier League mooted. The club remain linked with moves for players during the window, meanwhile, with a striker naturally appearing a likely priority.
By Sean Gillen
