Gary O’Neil has shared his admiration for one Wolves player’s approach to training.
The 2024/25 season is almost upon us, as Wolves prepare for their Premier League opener against Arsenal.
Gary O’Neil’s side have a trialling start to the campaign however, have shown encouraging signs in pre-season.
From securing impressive results in friendlies to putting the work in during training, O’Neil’s squad is certainly in a better position than last summer.
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Wolves defender Toti Gomes singled out as one of the best in training
The Athletic compiled a piece on how Wolves were preparing for the new campaign during their pre-season tour of the United States.
Within the detailed column, one of O’Neil’s favoured drills was picked apart, a session that the boss calls his ‘mentality test’.
The drill, described as an ‘energy-sapping exercise’ entails the squad being split into four teams of four, where they have three-minute cycles to compete in a limited area.
One team stays on for the entire three minutes and the others come on for a minute each in a gruelling drill that one player in particular thrives in.
Toti Gomes is described as the standout in the activity, as O’Neil explained.
“If you’re doing that drill, you want Toti in your team. He doesn’t suffer badly from disappointment. If a goal goes against his team, he picks himself up.
“When he gets tired, he’s not bothered. He knows he’s there to work. In this drill, you can be 5-0 down because another team keeps coming on fresh. He’s stable emotionally.
“We have got some emotional ones in the group that struggle with conceding a goal and getting ready to go again. So it’s a good drill for us.”
Toti’s approach to training isn’t a surprise
Arriving at Wolves in 2020, things haven’t always been easy for Toti as the defender has had to fight for his chance to impress.
Learning of the Portugal international’s mentality in training may not come as a shock to many, with his willingness to develop and learn evident throughout his Wolves career.
The 2023/24 season was a breakthrough for Toti, who made 35 Premier League appearances as he became an integral part of O’Neil’s back line.
As mentioned, game time wasn’t always so guaranteed for the versatile centre-back, who was tested by Bruno Lage and used sporadically by Julen Lopetegui.
In February, O’Neil rewarded Toti with a new contract seeing him earn £25k-a-week at Wolves, committing his future to Molineux following years of hard work.
The 2024/25 campaign will be another opportunity for the defender to show his growth in Old Gold as he continues to go from strength to strength under the manager.