Daniel Podence admits ‘something had to change’ at Wolverhampton Wanderers after the sacking of Bruno Lage. Lage was fired by Wolves chairman Jeff Shi after a run of one win in 15 Premier League games since April. The 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday evening, where Lage fielded Jonny Castro Otto at centre-back, was the final straw. Podence, who has scored two of Wolves’ three Premier League goals this season, is sad Lage has lost his job, but insists that something had to give with players underperforming in training and matches.
Daniel Podence said: “It’s very sad because it means us as players didn’t make a good job as well. We are playing in a good way but we are not winning points or games. It’s not just about the boss, it’s us as well. It makes us feel bad. At the same point, we needed something new or a different way to do things because players were not doing so good in training sessions or at matches. Something had to change and the club realised the boss had to go. We have to accept it and we have to deal with it now with a different [boss]. As players, we have to demand much more from each other. It’s a mix of everything: the system and the management. Even the players were getting comfortable and we needed something different and now we have it.”
Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui is the favourite to take over from Lage. But Podence is wary that a new manager bounce isn’t guaranteed and called on Wolves’ players to perform.
Daniel Podence said: “We have been watching a lot of teams sacking their manager and still doing a bad job so I think us as players, we have to think and realise that we have to do so much more.”
