Under-pressure manager backed to turn things around after defeat at Brentford, with Wolves on a record of one win in 17 Premier League matches. Wolves are still fully behind Gary O’Neil and will give him time to reverse the team’s worrisome downturn.
O’Neil has lost six of his seven Premier League games this season, and Wolves are bottom of the table following Saturday’s tumultuous 5-3 defeat at Brentford.
During Saturday’s game, fans reacted passionately to the manager and the players, with O’Neil stating it was the worst performance he had ever seen as manager.
Yet, while there was disquiet among senior officials at Wolves by the performance at Brentford, there is a desire to completely support the manager through their
Poor run. O’Neil signed a new four-year deal in August following a successful first season at Molineux, and internal opinion is that he deserves more time to demonstrate his skill and leadership to turn the club’s fortunes around.
Though Wolves have scored nine goals, more than eight other clubs in the competition, their defence has been a huge source of concern, conceding a league-high 21 goals.
With meetings against champions Manchester City and Brighton following the international break, O’Neil may ponder making Wolves more difficult to overcome.
Last season, the team showed more comfortable with a back five consisting of three centre-backs and two wing-backs, and O’Neil may revert to that formation.
Wolves are also aware that the fixture list has been cruel this season, with defeats to Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Liverpool already.
Opta, an analytics company, indicated in August that O’Neil will have the most difficult first ten games of any Premier League manager this season.
The defeat against Brentford is viewed as an aberration and the first truly concerning performance of the season.
Wolves will face Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham, and Bournemouth in a four-game stretch in November, with the expectation of earning points.
Concerned supporters, on the other hand, refer to O’Neil’s terrible results at the close of last season, which now leave him with one win in 17 league matches.
Wolves are unified behind the scenes, with chairman Jeff Shi and sporting director Matt Hobbs eager to back O’Neil during his current tenure. In a joint interview with Telegraph Sport last week, Shi and Hobbs both praised O’Neil and his work ethic.
Following the Brentford defeat, O’Neil stated, “It’s the furthest I’ve seen the group from what we wanted to look like.”
“This is the worst game I’ve ever been involved in as a coach.” This is the first indication that we need to rethink.”
The strength of the wolf is in the pack, and that needs to be truer.
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