Wolves tell Arokodare to start scoring league goals as he did in the Carabao Cup to save them from the drop

WOLVERHAMPTON Wanderers manager Vitor Pereira has told Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare to regard his debut goal against Everton in the Carabao Cup this week as the start of a long journey as the club expects a lot more from him this season.

Arokodare, 24, was a £23m summer signing from Belgian side Genk during the summer transfer window and on Tuesday this week, he opened his account with the club, coming off the bench to score against Everton. Wolves are currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League but in the cup, goals in each half from Marshall Monetise and Arokodare took them through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at Molineux.

Coach Pereira has now hinted that he is likely to be fielding Arokodare more following his goal as he sees the striker as key to the club's Premier League survival. He has urged the bog striker to get into top physical shape following his transfer from Belgium, so he can feature in more matches.

Mr Pereira said: "Tolu came in the moment that we didn't have Jorgen Larsen to play. The plan was not to play with him for 90 minutes, the plan was to give him time to adapt and to start getting minutes as he needs to work hard to get his condition and he will help us."

Commenting on the team's poor league form Mr Pereira insisted the time for adaptation has finished and he now wants his players to ignite their season. In the Carabao Cup, Wolves have been flying high as in the previous round, they beat follow Premier League strugglers West Ham before knocking out Everton.

So far this season, Wolves have lost their opening five games, including a 3-2 home defeat to Everton last month but the club is confident Mr Pereira's experience will prove crucial in arresting their slide. He believes that one or two victories will change the mood among his players and get them playing well again.

Mr Pereira said: "With two or three good results we can play at another level, for sure. The work I watch every day in training is hard work and this is a group who work a lot, they compete and want to be at a better level. We're just missing the results because the players have quality."