Head coach Vitor Pereira has insisted that his Wolverhampton Wanderers squad “cannot sleep” after their 2-1 victory at Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
The West Midlands outfit made the trip to the South coast aware that they could potentially move nine points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
That is exactly what transpired as two Jorgen Strand Larsen goals secured a 2-1 win at St Mary’s, Ipswich Town also losing 4-2 versus Nottingham Forest at the same time.
Although Leicester City will have the chance to reduce the gap when they face Manchester United on Sunday evening, Wolves know that the success on the South coast could potentially prove to be decisive.
Nevertheless, speaking to Match of the Day after the game, Pereira has refused to acknowledge the importance of Saturday’s win to its full.
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What did Pereira have to say?
Initially ruing Wolves failing to extend their two-goal lead, Pereira said: “In this moment of the season, we want to play good football. We had moments in the game where we played good football and we had [two chances] to score the third goal. If we had, the last 10 minutes would have been different.
“In 30 seconds, they scored their first goal. For a team that wants the three points, it was time to suffer together, be compact, defend and get the three points.”
On the potentially-pivotal triumph, Pereira added: “In this league, we cannot feel safe. The first mistake is to lose points. Now we have the [international] break and it’s important to rest a bit, but the next match is very important for us. We must control our games because we cannot control the opponents’ games.
“They are out of our control. We need to do our work to do well for our supporters, who were fantastic again. We cannot sleep.”
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What next for Wolves?
As a result of their elimination from the FA Cup, Wolves are not back in action until they play host to West Ham United on April 1.
If Leicester lose to Man United at the King Power Stadium, Wolves will go into that encounter sitting nine points clear of 18th place with nine games remaining.
However, Pereira’s comments can be perceived to be justified when Wolves are due to travel to Ipswich Town on April 5 and they still have to play host to Leicester on April 26.
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