Jorgen Strand Larsen exclusive: Striker staying positive at Wolves despite ‘rough’ summer | Football News

Asking Jorgen Strand Larsen how the opening weeks of the season at Wolves have been going is akin to enquiring of a security guard at the Louvre if the burglar alarms are working well.

An eleventh hour move to Newcastle United fell through before Deadline Day and, as his suitors glow in the aftermath of a 3-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League, Wolves are preparing for a dogfight at the bottom of the table against newly-promoted Burnley, live on Sky Sports.

“I think every footballer has their dream to play at a top level and we obviously know there was a Champions League club coming for me,” he told Sky Sports. “But at the same time, I felt like this is a place I can continue to develop, especially from last season with scoring 14 goals.

Sunday 26th October 12:30pm


Kick off 2:00pm

“It’s been a rough summer but I’m happy to be here. When we lost so many players as we did in the summer, it didn’t feel right for me.

“Now, every game that I stay, I’m here to win. I haven’t thought about if I should have done this or that, I’m happy I stayed.”

Keeping the player represents the one bright spot for Wolves in an otherwise torrid opening two months.

For his part, Strand Larsen has been refreshingly honest about the processes involved in his on-off move and where his future lies, now that a five-year contract has been signed.

“I think for the future, it’s just nice to see that big clubs are interested in wanting you for big money,” he said. “I come from a really small city in Norway, I can’t believe that the interest was actually true. So that’s a good sign, it means I have done something well. And maybe in the future at some point, it will be the right timing to do it.”

He is yet to score in the Premier League this season, and was part of a performance that was arguably the worst of the season, away at Sunderland last Saturday – the second time Wolves have surrendered to a newly-promoted team this season.

“We’ve had a rough start and at the same time I’ve been struggling with injuries,” Strand Larsen concedes.

“It’s a mix of everything. I think for the new players, they need to find that I’m not a striker dropping down 50 yards from goal, shooting into the top corner. I need service. We need to work on it. They need to know how to find me. And obviously, it’s taking a bit longer than we thought it would, but at the same time we’re getting closer. We’re training well. There have been bits in the last four or five games where we’ve been doing really well.”

The Sunderland performance was concerning enough, but the reaction from the visiting supporters pointed to a growing chasm between those who pay good money to watch the team and what they are seeing on the pitch in return.

“I understand that outside noise can be very loud sometimes because Wolves wants to be a club that keeps going forward and for two years in a row it’s been a slow start.

“We know that too, but we need to keep our heads cool and keep on going. Everyone wants a positive vibe between the fans and the players. We understand that the start hasn’t been good enough, from top to bottom.

“From all of us – the staff, the players to the way we have played. It hasn’t been good enough, but as a group, we’re being positive.”

Much of the ill-will can be put down to the pattern of decline that has emerged since going back before Strand Larsen’s arrival to the heady days of Nuno Espirito Santo’s era at Molineux.

The gradual depletion of a top squad, with star players moving on each summer only to replaced by others who do not scale the same heights, has led to a feeling of apathy in the stands – at best – and genuine toxicity towards the owners on other occasions.

This season, Matheus Cunha, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo have not been replaced effectively. Ladislav Krejci is the outstanding pick of the new arrivals, but others are still finding their feet. With most of the summer business done very close to the deadline, it is clear that the problems go above the head coach and the performances on the pitch.

“It’s obviously difficult because, in the bigger picture, we are a smaller club compared to the biggest ones in this league,” Strand Larsen explains, with a degree of diplomacy.

“If they want one of our players, it’s hard to find direct replacements and most of them need to come from other leagues like I did last season, like a lot of players have this season, too. You need to give the players and the manager some time to build it. But obviously in professional football, you haven’t got much time, you need to show improvement quickly. That’s why I was lucky last season. I felt like I came in and scored some goals in the beginning, I showed that I’m ready for this league. We need to step up a little because what we’ve been doing hasn’t been good enough.”

Supporters see a longer-term downward trajectory, though. Hopes were raised when head coach Vitor Pereira was allowed a greater degree of autonomy during the summer. Sporting director Matt Hobbs was moved on and in came a new football director, Domenico Teti, who had worked with Pereira previously. Filipe Almeida and Bruno Moura were added to the coaching staff. So, what have these changes produced on a day-to-day basis at the Compton Park training ground?

“I think we tried to build on what we did last season,” Strand Larsen adds. “Not much has changed with either Matt or Domenico, but I think the manager saw in the beginning that we don’t have the same kind of players to play with the five at the back as we started with. I think the track we’re going down now is the way to go. It’s important to have good communication between the staff and the players. The manager is the one taking the final decisions, but we’re also a group of people that wants to improve and he understands that we are the most important parts to this playing style.”

Sunday’s visit of Burnley is already being seen as the pinch point of the season. Lose to the third promoted team this season and the repercussions could be felt for some time. With a fanbase justifiably anxious, Strand Larsen is remaining cautiously positive.

“We can’t lose it. We need to make sure that we’re also playing well, not just kicking the ball away. We need to try to have our own game, which I think we’ve improved on a lot lately. Against Spurs away and Brighton at home, I think we’ve done well and been unlucky to not take three points. We have a lot of quality in this team and that’s what’s going to create a lot of chances and a good atmosphere in the stadium, and hopefully a lots of goals too.”

Perhaps it’s best not to promise too much in the light of what has gone before. An own goal, a deflection, a dubious refereeing decision. Even daylight robbery. Anything to get that first win.

Watch Wolves vs Burnley on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday from 1pm; kick off 2pm.