Vitor Pereira says he is trying to create “a piece of art” at Wolves and isn’t prepared to take his foot off the gas during the final three matches of the season.
Vitor Pereira says he is trying to create “a piece of art” at Wolves and isn’t prepared to take his foot off the gas during the final three matches of the season.
The head coach was crowned the Barclays Manager of the Month this week for an April campaign which guided the club comfortably to safety, but now he wants to see his side compete with three clubs positioned where he thinks Wolves should be, higher in the table.
Brighton & Hove Albion visit Molineux on Saturday with dreams of European football next season, and Pereira is looking forward to seeing his side back in action at Molineux, where a special connection is being built between those on and off the pitch.
On not being content with the work done
“I'm trying to build something that I never achieved before. I want to create something that I never created before, because to improve yourself, you must try to create something special every time, not be comfortable with what you did before. This is my idea. A piece of art, something special.
“At the end of the [Man City] game I felt proud of our work and proud of the supporters. The result we cannot control, but what we did, what we tried to do is more than the result. This is the way to build something special.
“If we play at home, or if we play away, if we play the last team in the table or against the first team on the table, we have this mentality to go and compete for the three points, and this is what I want.”
— Wolves (@Wolves) May 9, 2025
On an ambition to keep improving
“When we started, we tried to give confidence to this team, to the players with conversations and tactical direction. This is a team that in normal conditions can be in the same position as Brighton, Crystal Palace and the others, fighting in the middle of the table.
“We are in our level, trying to compete every game with the mentality that I want to create. Sometimes a team like us, the only team in this city, this is very powerful, because we feel the commitment between the people. If we commit everyone to achieve something, we can do special things. We are together and I want to improve and increase the commitment between the club, the players, the supporters, the city. This is the way to compete with the big teams in this league.
“The first training I think we created impact. If you look at the energy in the training, the commitment, the focus, everything was there, and this is from the first game. We went to Leicester and won 3-0, and they realised we have quality.”
On no temptation to rotate
“Football is not about gifts. It's deserving to play. I like to be honest with the players and with myself. I will select the players that I feel are in conditions to compete and to win the games. I want to compete every game, and I will reward the players that are in conditions to play, to compete and to win the game.
“We have 20, 21, 22 players and I can start with 11. But I'm very happy with everybody. I will not use the last games just to put them on the pitch, because this is work. You need to deserve to compete with the other players in your position, and to be better than them to play.”
On bringing the best from Hwang
“In my opinion, he is a fantastic player. He’s fast in short spaces, intelligent in the moves – a technical player. He has the quality to finish. This season we haven’t played with two strikers. If we play with two strikers, it will be easier for him. We play one striker and Larsen is scoring. I have players that until now didn’t have much chance to play because the others are in a good shape. This is football. I must be honest with them.
“Until now I didn’t have space to give him chances, and for the confidence of a striker, he needs to play, score goals, feel important. It’s not easy.”
On looking to hurt Brighton
“It’s a team with a lot of quality. The players working together for a long time, with good managers. For us, the next three games will be a challenge for us to compete with three teams that are consistent, playing good football, and we need to understand our level. We need to realise which level we are now to compete with this kind of team, because in the future I want to compete with them.”
