Wolves confirmed the sacking of Gary O’Neil on Sunday after he spent 16 months in the managerial role at Molineux.
Wolves’ embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town on Saturday was the final nail in the coffin for O’Neil, who had been on borrowed time for a while.
The Englishman had collected just two league wins since April and also tasted four straight defeats before being sacked.
Remarkably, Jeff Shi initially backed O’Neil before the clash against the Tractor Boys, which was a bizarre call from the chairman.
Now, after pulling the trigger on the 41-year-old, Jamie Carragher has pinpointed the key statistic that essentially ended his time at Molineux.
Former Liverpool player now a Sky TV pundit Jamie Carragher before the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool FC at Vitality St...
Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images
Jamie Carragher criticises Wolves embarrassing set-piece record
Almost instantly after sacking O’Neil, Wolves have lined up Vitor Pereira, the current Al Shabab manager, as the Englishman’s replacement.
Pereira is set to sign an 18-month contract at Wolves, keeping him at the club till 2026, and the fans are mostly excited about the Portuguese boss arriving.
O’Neil has already left a parting gift to Pereira with the signing of Jorgen Strand Larsen, who has plundered six goals this term, but it’s at the other end where the Wanderers have had massive problems.
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Jack Taylor’s stoppage-time winner on Saturday meant the Old Gold have now conceded a whopping 16 goals from set-pieces, double any other side in the Premier League.
While analysing the managers’ downfall on Monday Night Football, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher felt O’Neil knew the sacking was coming and failing to improve their record from dead balls is a huge reason why.
“I think Gary O’Neil maybe felt it would come after last Monday’s result and we highlighted there that they were a little bit unfortunate,” Carragher said.
“When you’re conceding goals like that, they just look messy if you’re a Wolves fan at that game and they get themselves back into it. But to concede another set-piece goal, that’s 16 conceded from set-pieces now, double what anyone else is in the league.
“When there are things like that happening, they’re the things that your own supporters expect you to fix as a manager. When you look at the numbers and how they are defensively in the bottom three, it’s always going to be tough for any manager so I think Gary O’Neil will accept the situation right now.”
Vitor Pereira’s biggest task at Wolves
Pereira will bring an exciting pressing style to Wolves and that will please supporters but they’ll be mainly concerned about how he can improve their defence.
The Old Gold have been in disarray at the back for the whole of this campaign, conceding a staggering 40 goals in just 16 games.
It’s a record that has them nailed down for relegation to the Championship unless significant improvements can be made.
The 56-year-old doesn’t have the greatest quality to work with in defence. He only has three senior centre-backs to choose from, including Craig Dawson, Santo Bueno and Toti Gomes.
But, to implement his high-risk three-at-the-back system, investment in the January transfer window is required and he will arrive with the assurances of being able to spend.
Wolves will sign a centre-back in the window and hopefully, that will help transform their season around.
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