Wolves head coach Bruno Lage not happy with early season fixture congestion

Wolves head coach Bruno Lage has questioned the “strange decision” to make his side play twice in the space of just over 48 hours.

Lage’s side lost their second Premier League game of the season at home to Tottenham on Sunday afternoon and are back in action for an 8pm kick-off at Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

The club’s appeal to have the tie rearranged to Wednesday was rejected by the EFL due to a clash with a Twenty20 cricket match taking place at Trent Bridge, which is a stone’s throw from Forest’s City Ground.

According to a club statement, further alternatives were also “dismissed” by the EFL and Lage said: “I don’t want to go that way but for me it was a strange decision why we play on Sunday because Tottenham play on Thursday and have the three days to prepare.

“Nottingham Forest don’t have the stadium available to play so it’s not our fault. Tottenham have the three days, Nottingham Forest continue to play at home and we are in the middle. In the end, no-one think about us.

“That’s why for me it’s a strange decision, but now you can understand why I did a lot of games in pre-season and some of them with that space, one day or two days between.

“We don’t have time to argue we just have time to go on and play.”

Lage admitted the short turnaround meant he was likely to make changes to his side on Tuesday, but said he would be taking the competition seriously.

“When people ask what is the most important game, the most important game is the next,” Lage added. “We will work hard and prepare the same way we prepared for Leicester and Tottenham.

“After these two games and with two days to recover I don’t want to put anyone at risk and we will try to play with the best team on Tuesday.

“At the moment we don’t have a big squad we need to be competitive in every competition but there is no time to talk about it, there is time to recover and be fit and play like we did against Tottenham against Nottingham Forest.”