Drinks are on Pereira as Wolves win again, Slot praises squad mentality

Wolverhampton Wanderers coach Vitor Pereira is happy to swap the wine of his native Portugal for the beer of England's Black Country as he celebrates his side's 4-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Fans at Molineux brandished a banner with the legend "First the points, then the pints" following last week's 2-1 win over Ipswich Town, after which the 56-year-old coach was spotted in a pub in the town celebrating with fans.

Asked if he would be joining them for a beer again following their drubbing of Spurs, Pereira was emphatic.

"Every time! Work is work, but after the work we need to celebrate together. I need to feel the energy of these people and be part of the family," he told the BBC.

Pereira has become a popular figure with fans following his appointment in December when Wolves looked to be in serious danger of relegation.

He has since secured eight wins and two draws in his 16 league games, with four of those victories coming in their last four matches, the first time Wolves have won four in a row in the Premier League.

"This is good for us. We are consistent now. Now we know very well the moments of the game and how to deal with them," Pereira said.

"Sometimes we need to wait and sometimes be compact and play on the counter, sometimes we have space to play with the ball, sometimes fast and sometimes slow down. In this moment, we have the tactical maturity."

With his team sitting 16th on 35 points, 14 points clear of Ipswich in 18th, Sunday's result means that Wolves will most likely retain their Premier League status for next season, and Pereira is already looking forward.

"I am (an) ambitious guy, I want more and more. This is the image I ask the players to send to the supporters - we have a team that can reach other targets," he said.

SLOT PRAISES SQUAD MENTALITY WITH LIVERPOOL ON BRINK OF LEAGUE TITLE

Liverpool did not make things easy in their 2-1 win over West Ham United, but the players showed exceptional mentality to bounce back from a late equaliser to seal the three points, manager Arne Slot said as they inched closer to the title.

After Luis Diaz had opened the scoring, West Ham grew into the game and grabbed an equaliser in the 86th minute from an Andy Robertson own goal before skipper Virgil van Dijk powered home a header three minutes later.

With a 13-point lead over second-placed Arsenal, Liverpool need just two wins from their last six games to win a second Premier League title and a first trophy under Slot having lost the League Cup final last month.

"That is what we've done the whole season. After the disappointment of being knocked out by PSG (in the Champions League), we show up again, show up every three days, with this mentality," Slot told Sky Sports.

"We don't win games the easy way. The easy way is taking control of the ball, pass it around five times and we have a goal and the next goal and the next goal.

"If we achieve something this year, it's mainly to do with the mentality the players have shown. That's what you saw today as well."

Liverpool have lost only two league games this season, with their second defeat coming last weekend at Fulham.

Slot said he was worried they would drop points again when West Ham grew into the game in the second half and hailed goalkeeper Alisson for keeping Liverpool in the contest with some crucial saves.

"Very difficult second half, we needed Alisson because (Lucas) Paqueta and (Mohammed) Kudus were incredible the whole game," Slot said.

"Then we conceded... with an own goal. How much more disappointment can you get after what happened last week? Getting the goal with Virgil shows you how much mentality these boys have.

"It's not only us. I saw the result when I came in, Chelsea v Ipswich, 2-2. There's no one who wins a game of football that easily because this league is so strong now. You have to put so much effort to bring your wins over the line."