(Reuters) - Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espirito Santo is expecting his players to bounce back from their home defeat by Watford when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday.
The top-flight newcomers had racked up an impressive 15 points from eight games before last weekend's disappointing 2-0 loss to Javi Gracia's side.
That defeat snapped a six-game unbeaten run in the league, and Nuno admitted the performance from his squad was not good enough.
The Portuguese coach has fielded an unchanged lineup for the first nine matches of the league campaign, but last weekend's defeat might prompt him into tinkering.
"It was not a good game. Of course, no excuses. We didn't play good, and it is finished," he told a news conference on Friday.
"(I expect a) good reaction, as ever. Every time after a bad result and a bad performance, we have to bounce back first of all then worry about our tasks, the game plan...
"I think we have to perform better than we did last season. I think that's the right mentality to have. We have to improve."
Wolves won the second-tier Championship last season and have built on that form by climbing to ninth in the Premier League.
They now face a Brighton side coming off the back of two successive victories and a reputation for being tough to beat on their own turf.
"We expect a tough game, Brighton are doing very well and at home they are very strong." Nuno added.
(Reporting by Christian Radnedge; editing by John Stonestreet)