Julen Lopetegui has revealed that he considers Premier League survival with Wolverhampton Wanderers as one of the biggest achievements of his career.
On the back of being thrashed 6-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, Wolves were left with work to do in order to retain their status in the top flight.
With trips to Manchester United and Arsenal still to come, their home derby showdown with Aston Villa on Saturday was regarded as a key opportunity to ease the pressure heading into their closing triple-header, the other game being against Everton.
However, an early goal from Toti Gomes earned Wolves a 1-0 victory over their West Midlands rivals, their fourth success at Molineux in a row.
As well as recording such a feat in the top flight for the first time since 1975, Wolves had not registered four consecutive wins with a clean sheet in the first tier of English football since 1969.
Sitting 10 points clear of the bottom three when some of the teams below them have four fixtures remaining, Wolves cannot claim to be mathematically safe just yet.
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Nevertheless, they are realistically guaranteed to stay up, something even acknowledged by a previously-focused Lopetegui who talked up his pride of moving Wolves away from the relegation zone since his arrival in November.
Speaking to Match of the Day, the Spaniard said: "I hope [we are safe]. Of course this victory is about the merit of the players. We arrived here five months ago with 10 points after 16 matches at the bottom, four points from the team above.
"We were in a very bad situation with bad belief and low morale. The players have worked very hard and we have suffered. In the last game against Brighton, it was tough for us but they showed quality again. We have played against the best team in the second half of the season and we deserved to win. We are happy for the players.
"I have won the Europa League and played with Sevilla in the Champions League but, for me, this is the most important achievement. I want to highlight the club, the staff, the owners, the players and the fans. Without our fans all of this was impossible. They had a big disappointment in the last match against Brighton and today they showed their best."
Lopetegui has recorded a total of 30 points from 20 Premier League fixtures in charge of Wolves, the ninth-best return since the World Cup break.
Wolves also sit within two points of 11th-placed Chelsea, whose 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon helped Wolves move above the Cherries in the table.
Darren Plant
