Vítor Pereira in huge Portuguese interview: Wolves transfers renewal on way Nelson Semedo.
A couple of days ago, we covered a lengthy interview Vítor Pereira had given the Portuguese media. Wolves are spending part of their preseason training in Portugal and their manager took the opportunity to speak to the country’s national news agency, so his words spread wide.
Pereira is often very happy to speak to the Portuguese media about his time at Wolves. There’s been a special curiousness in Portugal about him visiting pubs and speaking to fans there, partly because it’s seen as part of the English football culture.
On top of that, he’s used interviews to sometimes convey his frustrations and that was clear last week. Pereira doesn’t want to struggle at the start of the season and feels he needs multiple signings in quickly.
Sunday’s edition of O Jogo has a huge exclusive interview with the manager, indeed he’s on the front page. It’s so big it’s split into no less than ten sections and takes the first six pages of the newspaper, so we’ll go through the quotes which stand out.
O Jogo explain talks are still ongoing to renew manager’s Wolves contract, and ask how that’s been going and whether he’s been contacted by other clubs: “We’re in talks, it’s likely to happen, we’ll see. Thank God, I’m in a good moment in my career. I’m where I always wanted to be. I think I arrived prepared, and we’ll prove it again, renewing our ambition, renewing our energy, renewing our ideas, and the squad, too, which is what we need.”
Then on whether he has ambitions to actually win the Premier League, Pereira said: “I’m not much of a dreamer; I dream at night, and most of the time, my dreams have nothing to do with football. My goal is to truly improve, to not settle for what I did yesterday and to want to do better tomorrow. I’ll always be like that; I’ll never be satisfied with what I achieve, because I believe I have the potential for more.
“I wouldn’t mind at all (staying in the Premier League forever); I’d sign up right away. Because it’s a league that’s challenging at every level; it’s the kind of league where you feel like a coach. Now, we have to have arguments, because it’s a league that punishes those who lack arguments, those who lose focus, and those who make mistakes. Therefore, it’s a brutally demanding league in which you need to be prepared.”
Asked on his Wolves ambitions for the coming season and whether Nuno Espirito Santo’s achievement of European qualification could be replicated, he explained: “I like to have my feet firmly on the ground. The short-term perspective is to have a team that is as competitive as possible, playing every game in the Premier League, a very strong league, which allows us to be mid-table without having to focus on the bottom of the table, worrying about the relegation spots. I’d like to see our Wolverhampton side in mid-table positions next season, and biting something higher, and not just looking at their feet to see if the fish bites.
“We’re not ready yet (for Europe). That doesn’t mean that if things are done with planning… At a club like ours, you can’t make mistakes. We don’t have money to waste, we can’t focus on targets. We have to define very well what we need, have a clear vision of the game, and look for players who fit that vision, players with character, who truly want to reach the Premier League, who want to prove their quality in the competition, and who see Wolverhampton as a city to work for. Because there’s nothing but work. It’s beautiful, we’re on the field, but there really isn’t much to see. This is really about work. And, from this type of player, we form a strong structure and build the foundation so that one day we can truly compete for something else. Right now, for me, the club needs to stabilise in mid-table. That’s what I see next season.”
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