Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira talks to the media
There are pressing issues new Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira needs to address if he is to succeed in his mission
Vitor Pereira has fulfilled a 14-year ambition to manage in the Premier League but is facing a huge task at Wolverhampton Wanderers, a club deep in relegation trouble.
Pereira, 56, was appointed as Wolves’ new head coach on Thursday and inherits a team 19th in the table after just two league wins all season.
With a poor defensive record and recent concerns over discipline, Pereira has a major challenge guiding the club to top-flight survival.
Vastly experienced in the technical area, he has won league titles with Porto, Olympiacos and Shanghai SIPG and joins Wolves after a brief spell with Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia.
Here is what the Portuguese urgently needs to address if he is to succeed in his mission.
Cut out persistent indiscipline
Pereira has established a reputation as a no-nonsense operator and has been known to clash with senior players and officials in the past.
Perhaps that strict reputation explains why Wolves have moved for the Portuguese, indiscipline was a huge failing in the final weeks under Gary O’Neil.
In the last two games there have been ugly scenes after first Mario Lemina clashed with Jarrod Bowen and then Wolves coach Shaun Derry following the defeat at West Ham.
Then Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha were both embroiled in confrontations after the 2-1 defeat by Ipswich last weekend.
Cunha is facing a potentially lengthy ban for striking out at a member of Ipswich’s security team, though he will be available for this weekend’s crucial match at fellow strugglers Leicester.
Wolves have also registered 40 yellow cards and a red this season, so Pereira needs to urgently rectify this issue.
“I’m not a guy to punish when someone makes the first mistake but the second mistake for me is a problem,” he said. “We need to have rules and tactical discipline and responsibility. Even when I do something bad the consequence comes later.
“I don’t know the clear situation [with Cunha] but he needs to learn from our mistakes in life and he needs to have responsibility because he’s a very important player for us. It depends on the situation. We will see, I hope with communication we can avoid this type of situation.”
Vitor Pereira gives instructions during a Wolves training session
Pereira says ‘over the last 14 years of my career my focus was every time to come to England’
The worst defence in the league
Pereira only needs to take a quick glance at the ‘goals against’ column to realise the scale of the task ahead.
Wolves have conceded a league-high 40 goals so far this season, including 16 from set-pieces, and it is why O’Neil is no longer in a job.
O’Neil simply could not find a solution, though he will point to the £40 million sale of captain Max Kilman and season-ending injury to Yerson Mosquera as mitigating factors.
Wolves will prioritise the addition of a new centre-back in January but, for now, Pereira needs to get down to work quickly at the club’s training ground. “We will work on set-pieces every day,” he said. “I know the only way to improve is to work and work and work and correct and try again, correct and try again.
“We must find a way to stop losing goals from set-pieces like we were before. We need to be more pro-active and not waiting in the zones. We need to be more aggressive in man-to-man duels.”
There are other dreadful stats that need addressing: Wolves have won only three of the last 26 league games. They have also lost 12 of the last 17 league games at Molineux.
Get the Wolves fans back onside
There has been a mutinous mood at Molineux this season, with frustration growing over the club’s owners Fosun.
Chants demanding the removal of chairman Jeff Shi were heard during O’Neil’s final match against Ipswich last weekend.
Fosun have moved quickly to appoint Pereira as manager and sporting director Matt Hobbs has already suggested that funds will be made available for new players next month.
Yet performances have been so dismal on the field that Wolves fans sorely need a boost.
The fixture list ahead does appear daunting, but Pereira needs to hit the ground running and pick up a notable result against a big team.
Wolves fans are clearly concerned over the direction of the season and there needs to be an upturn soon or their team risks being cast adrift.
Pereira is certainly relishing the challenge after admitting he has waited 14 years to fulfil his ambition of managing in England. He has been rejected by Everton three times, most recently when the club appointed Frank Lampard ahead of him in January 2022.
“I believe I will stay here for a long time and I will do a good job here,” he said. “Over the last 14 years of my career my focus was every time to come to England, to be in the best league and to fight with the best coaches and this is the seat I want to be in.
“I want to be in this league to compete, to challenge myself and I’m ready.”