Bruno Lage has refused to consider Wolves being in the race for Champions League football, saying his team’s target is to “maintain what we are doing”.
Wolves welcome Leeds to Molineux knowing victory will take them above Tottenham and West Ham into sixth spot in the Premier League and only two points shy of fourth-placed Arsenal.
Back-to-back wins over Watford and Everton have reignited Wolves’ ambitions of playing European football next season, but Lage’s sole focus is on the next challenge confronting his players.
Asked whether Wolves were involved in the top-four race, head coach Lage said: “The target for me is trying to maintain what we are doing, that’s very important.
“If we do that we’ll achieve what we did in the last game.
“We reached eight away victories in the Premier League, and that’s the kind of thing that comes with the consistency and the personality we play with.
“The target should be to continue to play solid, compact and with big ambition. We want to play our game and control it the way we did against Watford and Everton.
“It’s comfortable for us to be in this position. But the points and this position can not give us comfort that we don’t work.
“It means we have the confidence to continue the way we are working. That’s the target, to challenge ourselves.”
Wolves were denied an Elland Road victory in October when Rodrigo’s penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time saved Leeds and secured a 1-1 draw.
The Leeds landscape has changed since with Jesse Marsch replacing Marcelo Bielsa in the dugout and the Yorkshire outfit in relegation trouble.
Leeds are four points above the drop zone after victory over Norwich – a first win in three attempts for Marsch – and Lage says he has noticed tactical differences under the American.
Lage said: “He has changed some things. They wait a little bit to press and are more patient.
“But they press high, run a lot and try to win the duels in one against one situations.
“Offensively, they are in the same style, dynamic with midfielders who look to build up the game.
“They are very good in attack and in the spaces behind, but when we play against different teams – and Leeds is one of them with the way they press and run – we must play our game.”
Wolves have been boosted by the availability of Hwang Hee-chan for the Molineux clash.
The South Korean forward suffered a dead leg during the early stages of Sunday’s 1-0 win at Everton but has trained this week and is likely to start.
