Bruno Lage makes promise to Wolves fans as Arsenal kicks off huge month of fixtures

Bruno Lage is demanding Wolverhampton Wanderers approach their season-defining month without excuses.

Wolves face five games in the space of 17 days against the teams directly around them in the Premier League table - including a double-header this week with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Lage and his players will meet the Gunners again at The Emirates on February 24, with Leicester City and West Ham also on the horizon.

To say that February will be key to Wolves’ chances of gate-crashing the top six would be an understatement.

“The good thing from the award - manager of the month - is that if I lose I have the excuse of the curse,” Lage says, tongue-in-cheek.

The Wolves boss is doing anything but making excuses, despite the multitude of problems facing him at the moment.

Due to injuries, Lage isn’t expected to make many alterations to the side that suffered a 1-0 defeat to Norwich City in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Daniel Podence was the only senior winger available to Lage against the Canaries, and that could be the case when Arsenal visit Molineux on Thursday.

“It’s about character and ambition,” Lage said. “We are going to play against teams who are in that position.

“Now we are here to play against these strong teams. We don't have any excuses, ‘We don’t have players, we don’t have wingers.’ No.

“Me and the players are going to find solutions to play against these strong teams, do a good performance and win the games.

“We are playing with consistency, we are playing with personality. February is going to be hard with a lot of games. We are here with character and ambition to find the best solutions and continue in this way.”