Wolverhampton Wanderers' boss Nuno Espirito Santo believes the three days between games 'will make a difference'.

After falling to defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday, Wolves travel to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday evening looking to kickstart 2021 with a victory.

Ahead of the game at Old Trafford, Wanderers had only one day off after drawing with Tottenham Hotspur due to the hectic Christmas period.

Here are the key quotes from the Portuguese manager:

  • On the performances of wing-backs

Nuno handed Ki-Jana Hoever his first Premier League start and Rayan Ait-Nouri his first game since the end of October in the defeat to Manchester United.

Both impressed against Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, arguably putting an argument out that they both should start against Brighton.

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Speaking about their performance in Manchester, Nuno said: "They're very young and this is a learning process and this game will teach them a lot, especially the cruelty of the game that requires focus and good defensive actions until the last minute.

"The talent is there and they will have options because it's a tight schedule and they are ready to go.

"I'm really pleased with the attitude and effort of the boys, in a tough schedule and the boys who cam in gave us good answers, so let's keep moving forward."

  • On the rise in Covid cases in the league

Prior to the contest at the AMEX Stadium, the Premier League confirmed that 'has not discussed pausing the season and has no plans to do so' after Fulham's visit to Tottenham and Everton's game with Manchester City were postponed due to rise in cases.

"The rising of the cases is increasing massively all over the country, and we are not an exception, we are part of society.

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"The protocols that we try to follow try to avoid a lot of things, but some things are impossible to avoid and if there is a break coming, I will have to realise and people have to sit down and see if it's for the better.

"What's going to happen next, how we're going to do the schedule- there's a lot of issues that require good answers."

  • On the difficulty of planning

Like every manager in the Premier League and across the country, the Christmas schedule has provided another hectic period, with planning almost impossible.

With the testing and news that the Covid-19 cases are increasing, Nuno spoke about the stresses it provides him.

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"All the managers and everybody has accepted that this situation is unprecedented and has never happened before, so we are reacting to situations on a day-to-day basis, that you cannot plan or predict.

"Every time there is a test you are worried. Every time you hear about the cases rising you are worried. You are worried about the players, you worry about the schedule, you start worrying about your future.

"But we are not away from society. These feelings go all over society- everybody is worried."

  • On 2020

The contest at the AMEX will be the Wanderers' opening game of 2021 after a varied year for the club.

On his side's performance of the year, Nuno said: "I usually don't make assessments on these kinds of situations. But it's a new season for everybody, with challenges and we are reacting as things go by.

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"It's a new cycle for us, we are trying new things, trying new solutions, and it's a day-by-day process, and not the moment to do a proper assessment because in a couple of days' time, we play again. 

'We're in the middle of something that is so unpredictable and changes week after week and the perception is totally different, so we work on this."

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