Wolves boss makes Alexander Isak claim as Newcastle United issue update on striker's fitness

Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Vitor Pereira believes his players must do more than just stop Alexander Isak if they are to get a result at Newcastle United.

Pereira takes charge of his fifth Premier League game since succeeding Gary O’Neil last month. The 56-year-old won his two opening matches against Leicester City and Manchester United before drawing with Tottenham Hotspur and losing to Nottingham Forest.

At St James’ Park, Pereira’s side come up against the division’s most in-form team and striker. Isak, who is expected to be passed fit after missing Sunday’s 3-1 win over Bromley with a hamstring complaint, has scored in each of his last seven Premier League fixtures. An eighth tonight will see him break Alan Shearer and Joe Willock’s record.

Asked how Wolves can stop Isak, Pereira replied: “As a team. We need to play as a team. If we play only against Isak, it will be Wolves’ 11 against Isak. But it’s 11 against 11, 11 against a team that have got eight wins in a row.

“When we look at these opponents, we understand why they are in this condition, because they play with identity, they have a high physical level, technical level and tactical level. It’s very good work from the coach because they have an identity which is very clear for me – it’s very clear, and they are a very strong team.

“We must look at them but also looking at our game and understanding with our game. How to face this team with our game. This is most important for me. I need to look at our game, our players, our qualities, and let's face them with our identity. This is most important. It is not to change our identity it's to try to force our identity against a different opponent.”

What else did Pereira say about Newcastle?

Pereira added: “It is a strong team, but I don't know any perfect team. We need to understand very well the key points, the tactical points of this team, the technical points, the individual points of this team and with our game – because we have qualities also, we have players with high quality – we need to explore our key points and to try to cancel them out and try to not allow them to play in the way that they like to play.

“Eddie is a top coach. When I look at a coach, I look not at what they say, but at their teams and what they build, and Newcastle is a very strong team. Of course, Eddie has been at Newcastle for a long time and it's easier to build something strong, and this is my intention in Wolverhampton – to build something strong.

“Now, it's time to connect everybody in the idea. For me, a team has one brain. It must have one brain, which means everybody needs to identify on the pitch the moments to press, the moments to wait, the moments to go fast, the moments to slow down, and we must have one intelligence inside the pitch, scanning everything and understanding the game. Our game.”