Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Aston Villa: Carlos Carvalhal and Roberto Di Matteo reaction
Sunday 7 August 2016 21:52, UK
Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal wants at least four more signings before the end of the month.
The Owls started their Championship season with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, with Fernando Forestieri's 85th-minute strike proving decisive.
Afterwards, Carvalhal told Sky Sports that he is still looking for new additions before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
"We have a squad that is not complete, we have a team to start the competition, but we have some gaps," he said. "We need one more player minimum in midfield, we need a winger and left-back and we need a centre-back, so four players at minimum to complete the squad. It's easy to see where we have the gaps."
Wednesday had a poor start to last term, failing to win in six league games after beating Bristol City in their first match, but they still managed to finish the campaign in sixth place and only missed out on a place in the Premier League after losing to Hull in the play-off final.
Now, after seeing his side once again claim an opening-day win, Carvalhal is feeling optimistic about the future.
"I thought we deserved to win the game. All the players deserved to win this game, "he said. "I think we are more compact than last season and we are moving the ball again very well.
"We are improving the team and I think they are playing at another level now compared to the start of last season."
New Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo was disappointed to go down to a late goal but he was able to take positives from the match and said they will learn from the loss.
The Italian also said Villa are still looking to add to their squad as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.
"It was disappointing the way we conceded and also that it was so late. You'd like to see the game out and not give them the opportunity to score.
"We defended well as a team, but the late goal just killed us. He was just looking to clear it and it wasn't as clean as he'd have liked it. We'll learn from it and move on.
"I think we dominated the second half. The players gave everything today - they ran and they fought - it's just a shame that we gave it away.
"You could see that Sheffield Wednesday are a good team, but once we got into the game, we caused them problems.
"We have seen some good, positive signs. It's a good group and if we play like we did in the second half, we'll get some wins. We've got a good core now, but we're looking to add to the squad."
