Lopetegui: Hodge will grow & improve after penalty miss

Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui has backed Republic of Ireland U-21 midfielder Joe Hodge to "grow and improve" following his penalty miss in Wednesday night's Carabao Cup quarter-final loss at Nottingham Forest.

Ruben Neves and Hodge missed their spot-kicks as Forest emerged 4-3 winners in a shootout after it had ended 1-1 in normal time.

It was a bitter pill for 20-year-old Hodge to swallow, but his progress under Lopetegui has been excellent. Hodge is starting to show his full potential, with his club boss confident this will merely be a slight setback.

"I want to highlight his commitment and character," Lopetegui told the club website. "But this is done and the players that doesn't score the penalties are never at fault, but he wanted to take a penalty and show his character and this is all. He's going to grow and improve from this, for sure.

"I want to highlight the fight of the players again, because we have played three matches away from Wolverhampton and we haven't lost, but we haven't won. We need to win, above all today because it was a key match to continue ahead and we have a big vision to ahead.

"We have fought a lot and it’s a pity for our fans because they are here and offering a big support for us, so it was a pity for all of us, but above all, for them."

There were ugly scenes at the end with a mass brawl between the two sides as bad blood boiled over.

Former Wolves forward Morgan Gibbs-White, who celebrated in front of the away end when his side won, was at the forefront of it, clashing with a number of his former team-mates.

Stewards had to intervene and both clubs are sure to be in hot water with the Football Association.

Forest manager Steve Cooper did not want to comment on the incident.

"I am not going to deny