Wolves boss Bruno Lage has told Ki-Jana Hoever he has nothing to apologise for after last week's defeat to Liverpool.
The Reds edged a 1-0 victory at Molineux as Divock Origi scored in stoppage time to earn his side a crucial three points.
Hoever was a late substitute for the home side and the 19-year-old was dispossessed in the build-up to what was a dramatic winner.
Later he shared in a post on Instagram: “Sorry for letting down my teammates and the fans this weekend. Every mistake has its lesson and I learned from this one. We keep going."
However, Lage has since excused Hoever from any blame and insisted the goal was a result of limited squad depth.
On Friday, Lage told Birmingham Live: “I was disappointed after that and more disappointed because of things I said to you. It was very hard for me to make that decision to put Ki in.
“It wasn't Ki's mistake and I said to him, 'You don't need to apologise on social media, Instagram and so on. And also you don't need to apologise here between us.'
“When we win, we win together, and when we lose, we lose together.
“It was my decision to put Ki there. For wingers you don't feel too much difference to play on the right or left, but for the full-backs it's harder.
“My frustration comes from that. We didn't have the people I wanted on the bench to manage the game better. It happened at Leeds when Rayan asked to come out."
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