Vitor Pereira is hoping he can replicate what Eddie Howe has built with Newcastle United at Wolves as the two teams go head-to-head at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening.
The Portuguese, who has been at the Old Gold helm for less than a month, has already had a big impact on the team, having lost just one of his five matches in charge.
But as he faces off against Howe, who has had more than three years to develop his Magpies team, Pereira understands that his side will be underdogs in the north east, but insists his squad of players – who have been boosted by the return of Nelson Semedo and Matheus Cunha from injury and suspension – have the confidence to show they can beat anyone.
On Cunha’s return to the team
“Nelson, Dawson and Cunha will be ready for the match, but they are coming from injury so we need to be careful about the minutes that they can play. But we need players, and players with this quality.
“The conversations that we have together are very comfortable. He's very happy in this game and in his role in the team. It means that if he's happy, I'm happy, if he plays at a high level, I'm happy for him.
“Since the beginning, I said that this is Wolves’ game, it’s not Vitor Pereira’s game, it’s something that they need to feel that this is the game that we want to play. This is the game that we work every day to build up to.”
On how Wolves can stop Alexander Isak
“As a team. We need to play as a team. If we play only against Isak, it will be Wolves’ 11 against Isak. But it’s 11 against 11, 11 against a team that have got eight wins in a row.
“When we look at these opponents, we understand why they are in this condition, because they play with identity, they have a high physical level, technical level and tactical level. It’s very good work from the coach because they have an identity which is very clear for me – it’s very clear, and they are a very strong team.
“We must look at them but also looking at our game and understanding with our game. How to face this team with our game. This is most important for me. I need to look at our game, our players, our qualities, and let's face them with our identity. This is most important. It is not to change our identity it's to try to force our identity against a different opponent.”
On the challenge Newcastle pose
“It is a strong team, but I don't know any perfect team. We need to understand very well the key points, the tactical points of this team, the technical points, the individual points of this team and with our game – because we have qualities also, we have players with high quality – we need to explore our key points and to try to cancel them out and try to not allow them to play in the way that they like to play.
“Eddie is a top coach. When I look at a coach, I look not at what they say, but at their teams and what they build, and Newcastle is a very strong team. Of course, Eddie has been at Newcastle for a long time and it's easier to build something strong, and this is my intention in Wolverhampton – to build something strong.
“Now, it's time to connect everybody in the idea. For me, a team has one brain. It must have one brain, which means everybody needs to identify on the pitch the moments to press, the moments to wait, the moments to go fast, the moments to slow down, and we must have one intelligence inside the pitch, scanning everything and understanding the game. Our game.”
On Rodrigo Gomes’ recent performances
“He’s small, he’s not a tall guy, but he has a lot of energy and a lot of happiness. When you look at a player and you feel that this player is very happy as a person, smiling every time, good energy to help the team.
“If he plays and if he starts, he feels OK, if he's starts on the bench, he is the same and he will try to help the team. This is the kind of personality that I like to work with.”
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 13, 2025
On a difficult run of fixtures ahead
“If I think about the next six games, I think I will not sleep – but I need to sleep and rest! We need to think about Newcastle. Newcastle is the most important game for us, because it's the next one.
“We need to have confidence inside of us. I don't believe in ‘Supermans’, it’s the other side – 11 players – against our side – 11 players – and we always have a chance. If we play against the best team in the world, we have our chance. If we play with the right energy, the right commitment, the right team spirit and if we face with courage, we can win.”
On the challenge of English football
“I spoke with Andre about this, because when he was in Fluminense, I was in Corinthians, and what the difference is, when you have a throw in in Brazil, you have time to do it. You breathe a bit, you rest a bit, you calm down.
“Here, when we have a free kick, when we have a corner, if you sleep for 10 seconds, you will wake up losing the game one-zero. This is the difference.
“The difference is because the game doesn't stop here, the game never stops. You have to think fast. But this is something that I love – every time, you need to be connected and to be one step ahead.”
