England defender Conor Coady has hailed the work of head coach Bruno Lage ahead of in-form Wolves’ clash with Norwich City.
Sixth-placed Wanderers head to Carrow Road with five wins and a draw from their last seven matches, shaking off a frustrating start to the season.
With Nuno Espirito Santo moving on after a third consecutive mid-table finish in the Premier League, Lage arrived from Portuguese giants Benfica but started with successive 1-0 defeats to Leicester, Tottenham and Manchester United before results picked up.
“It’s full credit to the manager, he’s been brilliant since he came in,” skipper Coady said after last Saturday’s 1-0 home win over West Ham.
“He’s got new ideas and new ways of playing but kind of sticking to what we know as well in terms of the system.
“I think a lot of people think ‘oh Wolves are playing three at the back, it’s the same’ but it’s totally different.
“We’ve all had to change the way we do things and the way we want to play. The boys up top have been brilliant because we’re trying to play a little bit more inside now, trying to move the ball a little bit quicker and have more possession.
“The gaffer’s been brilliant with it every day in training.”
The visitors will face a Canaries team in high spirits as well at Carrow Road on Saturday though, after back-to-back wins over Brentford and Southampton.
Beating the Saints gave new boss Dean Smith a winning start and moved City up to 19th, within three points of safety, despite failing to win any of their first 10 games after promotion.
With Smith and assistant Craig Shakespeare having their first full week of training to get their ideas across, Norwich go in search of three successive wins in the top flight for the first time since December 2012.
Speaking on Match of the Day Two, Coady was asked if it had been an easy transition to Lage’s methods, continuing: “No, not at all. It’s not been easy because we’re trying to be a little more aggressive.
“I don’t think it’s ever easy when you’re making a change in football because you know for one, you’ve got to be winning games, and two, it’s the Premier League, the best league in the world against the best teams and the best players.
“So it’s never easy but at the same time we’re really enjoying what he’s trying to do and how he’s trying to play.”
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