Ruben Neves was proud of his teammates and the club, after Wolves moved to within touching distance of safety with victory in the West Midlands derby on Saturday.
Toti headed home the skipper’s corner nine minutes in and Wolves battled for every ball from that point, knowing three points would take them on to the 40-point mark, which is the usual target for survival. The win over Villa was Wolves’ fourth is succession at home and Neves believes the group deserved to celebrate another big win after what has been a difficult season at Molineux.
On being able to touch safety
“It’s not a secret for anyone, with 40 points we are pretty much there. A Catastrophe needs to happen. It was really important for us, and we can breathe a bit better now. It’s been a long season, so it was really important for us.
“It’s a big relief to come out of this fight and to enjoy the three games left in the league. We knew if we won this game, we’d be really close to our goal. It’s really hard to go down on 40 points. Really tough moment for the team, but we reacted well in the bad moments.
“We had a bad start and changed coach, then the World Cup and we changed coach again. A lot of injuries, a lot of players out, but we wanted to achieve our main goal today. We worked really hard during the week and in the 90 minutes, and I’m really proud of everyone.”
A happy dressing room at full time 😄 pic.twitter.com/PPex0ytO6g
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 6, 2023
On another big home win
“Massive result for us. We just wanted to win again. We worked so hard, I’m so proud of everyone. It was a really tough game, Villa have been one of the best teams in the second part of the season, so I think we deserved this for all we’ve been through this season. A really hard season for us, but I’m really happy for the result for the boys and for the fans as well.
“We were in a bad moment, so we needed to keep it strong at home. It was very important for us to win these games at home after the games against Bournemouth and Leeds when we lost three points here. We needed the points at home, we knew that, and I think we did really well playing here.
“We knew we were not that team we showed at Brighton. We know we were better than that in terms of attitude, character, so I think it was really important to show it. I really think we deserved this win after all we’ve been through this season. It was really important for us.
“We reacted to it during the week, everyone was really focused on winning this game to achieve our goal. Three games to go, we have 40 points. It’s really hard to explain what we’re feeling in the dressing room."
“It’s amazing. An amazing club. Since I came here, the way they received me here, it was amazing. The club, the city, all the fans. 250 is a fantastic, amazing number – I didn’t think I would achieve this. It’s really good, mainly because five years in the Premier League, it’s a big dream for me. I’m really happy but believe me I’m happier for the win today.”
On the crowd making a difference
“As always. The key parts when we play at home, they've been amazing for us, like an extra player. It’s really important for us, when you are playing on the pitch, feeling they are pushing for us, and today was amazing.
“It’s our home, we have our fans with us. The atmosphere today was amazing, one of the best of this season. When we play at home, we just want to protect our pack. That’s what we want to do in every single game, protect our goal as much as we can, because if we have a clean sheet, we’ll have our chances to score goals, like we did today.”
