Thomas Frank
Can we check first on the team news, any fresh injury worries after Brighton and is Shandon Baptiste able to go again after 75 minutes last weekend?
All good news, everyone that was available for Brighton.
Five points from four games so far, 10th in the table is pretty good. Are you playing well enough though, do you think for a first away win of the season?
Let’s see tomorrow at 3 o’clock. I believe that that we have a chance and I think we’re going to Wolves a very good side, playing against a well-established team in the Premier League. I believe this is their fourth season or something like that off the top of my head. I faced them myself as a manager more than four years ago and thought they were brilliant under Nuno. I think Bruno Lage has kept the momentum going and I know now they only had one win in four games but for me, looking through the four matches, they should have been a lot closer to winning. Two of their first three matches, but losing despite performing against Leicester, Tottenham and Manchester United. Top six teams, I would say. They performed very well and were very unlucky, so it’s going to be a massive task and they’re favourites, but we believe in ourselves. I believe we can go and get something and give a high-performance level and I think most importantly. I think we’ve been very consistent in our performances so far and that’s made me happy of course, but also believing that we can continue doing some great stuff.
How concerned are you about just one goal in the last three games and only nine shots on targets so far this season?
I think it’s natural. When you get a promoted team into the Premier League, I don’t know if this is the past, you see the teams at the bottom of the table. Whatever you read but I just think when you are promoted going into the Premier League, and you’re going in there with the lowest projects of all the others. The most difficult thing to add to your team if you just need to develop it. It is the offensive quality I believe we have offensive quantity. I have a massive belief in Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney. They are both frightening and look brilliant together, and I believe there will come much more from them. They are all still learning every single day. I believe that in Yoane Wissa, we have a very good player that will only grow into it. This summer, he came late into the club and I believe we have other players in the team who can act that offensive pain as well but I’m pretty sure they are going to have for 23 shots on target scenario, it’s like whatever City and Chelsea and then these clubs.
You mentioned Yoane Wissa. He’s not started in the Premier League yet, could this be the game made for more game time for him?
Definitely, it’s the balance between, let’s say in this moment in time, I would like to play with three at the back then it’s for me to decide to play three midfielders, or do we play two then three attackers or more offensive players? That’s the balance I try to find and then of course, for him to force his way in between there Bryan [Mbeumo] and Ivan [Toney]. But we all know that we need to have more than 11 good players. We need to have players that are ready to step in when needed.
Obviously losing to Brighton in such an agonising fashion will have hurt the team. What kind of response do you think you’ll get at Wolves?
I think you know it’s a big thing for me, we perform well. So, if we did perform well then, I wanted a big response if that makes sense and we perform well, we lost in the last minute, and that happens especially in the Premier League. So, I expect that we will go out and do the same we’ve done so far for both. You wanted to improve on the offensive aspect of your play. Is that something that can be changed in terms of your setup, your tactics, or is that simply a case of your plate, perhaps practising more just getting that experience on playing top-flight football? I think it’s the combination of enough offensive players on the pitch, with the right abilities that connect well enough, and so depending on what types we put on the pitch – how their relationship is and then trained and then of course constantly training and constantly adapt to a higher level. I think it is that combination we need to nail and when we, for example, we’re going to Wolves, and we know it’s going to be a difficult away game – a team that had fought well offensively. And how sensitive do we want to go? I think we should go quite offensive, but you know how? That’s the big balance we need to get right.
Did you regret maybe not bringing maybe Marcus Forss or Yoane Wissa particularly last week to help you try and win the game and you know just maybe run the Brighton defence a bit more?
You always think after the game, is there something you should have done differently? An old, experienced coach once told me don’t use your thoughts on that because you don’t know if you then would have lost 2-0, but I understand your point and to that, I would say that we were thinking about it. For example, with Wissa on the pitch, but there is always that balance between how much you want to press them, how much do you want to go the other way? He [Wissa] is still in a state that most people think while we are still building them physically and starting to know the team well enough and so it’s also only part of that.
Do you feel that maybe that losing there [Molineux] tomorrow along with the fact that the next three of the next four against the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Leicester. Could that be a maybe slightly concerning aspect?
No, I’m going into every single game with a big big massive belief in there we can win. If we then lose or draw, then I will take from there. It would be a very bad mentality to go into a game, we can lose two and I don’t think that should be the case.
Have you picked up the players during this week?
Not massively, I don’t think it was needed. We went through the game as normally, try to be as consistent as possible. In terms of the game, we analyse the good bits and the bits we need to do better. According to the game plan and our style of play, we are trying to do that as consistently as possible. If we do that, then I think over time, we are all consistent. I think we do. Of course, it will be tough, but we try to do that.
