Jorgen Strand Larsen admits Sunday’s defeat to Burnley left spirits rock bottom in the Wolves dressing room.
The club’s winless run continued, as the Clarets scored an injury time winner to take all three points at Molineux, leading to scenes of frustration from those on the terraces.
The striker, who netted his first Premier League goal of the season during an eventful afternoon, understands the concerns of fans, but says it’s the players themselves who need to look in the mirror and see how they can give more to turn Wolves’ season around.
On a tough afternoon at Molineux
“Football is football. It's why we love and hate this game, but right now we all hate it. It's not nice to be a Wolves player or fan right now, and I'm really sorry to everyone out there trying to support us, with us not being able to give them what they deserve.
“Today, after a really slow and bad start, we were coming back and were playing good football, at least controlling the team and creating chances. We deserved to win today, but it's just the momentum we're in right now.”
On the late sucker punch
“There's nothing to say. It's just really sad. We are really sad in there now. It's one of the worst feelings I've had in a really, really long time. The only positive to take is that there’s 29 more games to go, and we just need to keep going, keep believing. We have some players today that played an outstanding game – Ki and JJ had not been in the starting 11 for a long time, but came into the team and did really, really well.
“We need to look at each other, be positive about each other. We know everyone needs to look in the mirror, look at what they can improve. I haven't been at the same level as last season and I’m trying to get there, it was nice to get a goal today, but in the end it doesn’t really matter.”
On understanding fan frustration
“Sometimes it's what you need, let the frustration out. I'm not going to sit here and say that I want people to believe in us right now, because we don't deserve that, but we just need to believe in ourselves. What I did was trying to listen a little bit. Obviously, it's not a nice moment, but we can understand the frustration.
“We're just trying to give everything, and today we were, in my opinion, really unlucky after coming back, but at the end it’s zero points against a team we can't lose against. We really understand the disappointment, but inside the group we're trying to create something really good, and we went over there to listen, and we will try to be positive in the group and try to win the next games. That's the only thing we can do.”
On needing to dig deep
“As a footballer coming to this club, I've given everything since the first minute, and I know that my teammates have too. We're just trying to make the best out of every situation.
“We've had a big change of players since last year. It's obviously been difficult for all of us, the manager and ourselves. We need to dig out of a big hole, but I still believe in us, I don't listen to any outside noise, but at the same time, we can understand it. As a group, we're trying to stay strong right now.”
