Nuno reveals thought process behind team changes for weekend win over Cardiff

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Nuno Santo has denied that the changes he made to his Wolves side to face Cardiff on Saturday were a direct consequence of the poor performance in the previous match against Huddersfield, as per the Express and Star.

Wolves were awful against the Terriers, deservedly losing 1-0 but Saturday’s display was much improved and they killed the game within the opening stages against the Bluebirds.

The likes of John Ruddy and Morgan Gibbs-White came into the side and Santo has shed some light on why that was.

When it was put to him that the changes could have been a rocket up the backside of some players after the Huddersfield loss, Nuno said: “That’s not the idea. We don’t have to pass the message that way.”

“We speak, we have dialogue. We are all aware of what happened at Huddersfield, we didn’t perform well, but it’s nothing to do with that. It is our job to prepare the squad well, so we’re always able to choose a strong eleven.”

Santo will have been looking for a response from his side after yet another game where they have failed to raise their game against a ‘lesser’ opponent and he got exactly that against Cardiff.

With an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United coming up, it will have done him no harm to remind some players that he has quality in reserve with which he can alter his lineup and provoke responses – even if he says otherwise.