Gary O’Neil
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil said he was delighted for Sasa Kalajdzic after the striker scored his first goal for the club to secure a 1-0 victory at Everton.
The 26-year-old Austrian glanced home Pedro Neto’s cross on 87 minutes, just two minutes after he had come off the bench. That was quite a milestone for the striker who is making his way back from the ACL injury he suffered on his Wolves debut last September.
O’Neil said Kalajdzic was a great option for a Wolves team who were looking dangerous from balls into the box from Neto and Hugo Bueno in particular.
Gary O’Neil said: “I think he has worked very hard since I have been here. He is obviously still on journey, getting back to full fitness. He is not one you can play for 90 minutes week in, week out at this moment but, as I say, with us arriving in good areas and with Hugo… I think he put some great crosses in. Pedro as well being able to duck in on his left foot, I just felt we were going to arrive and get some good quality into the penalty area. We hadn’t managed to get an important touch on it. I though Sasa could be that guy and he was. It was a really good finish, a really smart finish because he was facing the wrong way and it is easy to get disorientated there. But he has got a lovely little touch on it to divert it into the corner so I am really pleased for him.”
Kalajdzic, who cost £15.5million from Stuttgart last summer, has worked hard to get back to fitness, reporting back early for pre-season. O’Neil, who was appointed three weeks ago,
Gary O’Neil said: “It is hard to assess when you come in new. You just see him training and everyone tells you he has been out for a while. You just try to judge him at that moment against the rest of that group and the ones he is competing with for a starting place. He looked a little bit behind the others, sharpness and fitness wise, but I obviously don’t have a clear picture in my mind of what he is like when he is full throttle either. I have spoken to him a lot about it. He understands where he needs to improve and that he needs extra time on the grass and we need to keep working. But he also understands he can have a big impact on football matches still. If we are going to arrive in good areas and get good balls into the box then he is a real good option for us.”
