DIEGO COSTA can help Wolves climb into mid-table by the World Cup, according to manager Bruno Lage.
The former Chelsea striker signed for the club earlier in September and could make his debut in Saturday’s Premier League clash against fellow strugglers West Ham.
Costa left Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro back in January and has not played a match since but Lage has been impressed by the effect he has had on the squad in training during the international break.
“I think all the team, you can see now they have a striker training, we can see the good vibes and the good energy comes,” said the Wolves boss.
“He didn’t work the first week with the team but after Man City he started training with the team and he gives a lot of energy. We are a different team when we have a striker in front of us.
“Other players can give more. The big energy comes especially from that and, also, we know that we lost 3-0 against a good team, but we had good moments in the game even with 10 men.”
On whether Costa will start against West Ham, who sit one spot and two points behind 17th-placed Wolves, Lage added: “Let’s see tomorrow.
“He spent a long time without playing, a long time without training. The Premier League is at a different level but, what I watch in training with the team, sometimes you need to protect him a little bit, but he’s training very well.”
Sasa Kalajdzic has been ruled out by a serious knee injury while Raul Jimenez is also sidelined with a mystery problem, leaving Costa as the only available striker.
Lage believes a lack of forward options has been the main reason for Wolves’ disappointing start to the season, with only one Premier League victory from seven games.
That follows on from a winless seven games to end last season but Lage is bullish about his own position and has no doubt things will improve.
“Sasa is impossible to recover until that period (after the World Cup), let’s see what we can do with Raul, and to have players in that position to score goals for us,” he said.
“That’s the most important thing. That last seven games of last season, we didn’t have five or six important players with us. So it’s the same thing. It’s not an excuse.
“There are some problems. Just one striker. It’s my problem but also a club problem.
“I have plenty of confidence in my work. We will try to find, and we need to find, the best solutions to get strikers available to play, to score goals, to win games and to put the team in the middle of November in the middle of the table.
“We’ve had a plan since the first day but to be an attacking team we need those kind of players.”
Adama Traore is fit but Hwang Hee-chan picked up an injury on international duty and will miss out while Lage must make a change in defence following Ireland international Nathan Collins’ sending off against Manchester City last time out.
Lage added: “We cannot deny it’s an important game for us. We go there to play our game, we go there with big ambition. We played two good games against West Ham (last season) and we go there to do our best and to win the game.”
The maul tries would not have been so easily scored if Klyne had been playing. He is invaluable to Munster an absolute brick wall in defence.
Didn’t look good now. Should never have Glasgow come away with bonus point. As for Jager, there’s a reason he’s at munster and not at La Rochelle or Toulouse. Let’s not get carried away with this guy folks.
@Ray Ridge: is it that he has ambitions of playing international rugby? Or that he values player welfare?
@Ray Ridge: easy does it Ray. He might not tech the heights of your interprovincial career or international prospects but give him a little time before cutting the legs from him.
@David O’Flynn: Time?? 6 years at the Crusaders and failed to make it as an all black. I doubt a year or two at munster will make a difference. No harm or offence.
@Ray Ridge: Was that last sentence a pun there Ray? This lads father is Harm Jager.
Harm Jager is a Dutch strength and conditioning coach who worked (works?) in Ireland but I can’t remember who for, Football? Rugby?
I remember him in connection with Niall Quinn I think.
@Ray Ridge: Neither did Aki, JGP or Lowe make it to the ABs but they made it into the Irish side.
You seem to be very quick to judge. Judge as you wish to be judged is a good philosophy, irrespective of any religious connotations.
They seemed to try and drop it (lineout) a few times, but Loughman wasn’t able to pull the man down and so gave away momentum and never got behind it, and they only contested once (from 5m). Jager seems a little off the fitness level but looks like a bouncer at Mullingars 3 best nightclub which is exactly what’s needed. Hope he goes well. No need for that reverse scrum penalty for one of the maul tries.
I have to agree with Matt Williams article last week about how the proliferation of maul tries. I agree it is ruining the game. They have to think of a way of Dix our aging it and encouraging the running option.
@John dunne: discouraging!
@John dunne: Ugh. Matt Williams is awful, Ray Ridge is even better.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the match but it is a great result. The fact that there’s areas to improve upon means Munster will get even stronger. The return match with Leinster will be a tough one, I can’t see Munster losing it.
Remember, Glasgow have a very strong team this year, so no mean result overall! That’s in spite of their BP, which needs to be looked at in terms of the overall scoring by Munster. If Munster had lost, yeah I’d complain but it’s a great score to put on a strong team.