After the loss to Everton, most of the talk was about adding quality to the Wolves squad, but Vitor Pereira’s comments about the players already at the club are a little concerning.
There were only a handful of impressive performances against Everton, and without Jorgen Strand Larsen, who was in the stands, the Old Gold struggled to cause real problems against the Toffees.
A couple of moments of brilliance did result in two goals, and while fans are frustrated with a controversial VAR decision against Everton, they’ll be the first to admit Wolves were not good enough on the day.
Last week, Matt Doherty admitted the Wolves players did not follow Pereira’s instructions, and what the manager said after the game on Saturday, raises the alarm bell once more.
Vitor Pereira delivers worrying admission about his Wolves squad
Wolves manager Vitor Pereira looks on.
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images
Every football manager will prepare their team on the training ground, drilling into them the game plan for their next match.
Once a game has kicked off, the hope from the manager is that those ideas have been instilled in the minds of the players.
However, Vitor Pereira’s comments after the 3-2 loss to Everton do offer some concern.
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The manager said, ‘We didn’t learn today. We need tactical maturity. Sometimes we can take risks, but when the traffic is strong in the middle, we cannot go to the middle.’
VP: We didn’t learn today
We need tactical maturity
Sometimes we can take risks, but when the traffic is strong in the middle, we cannot go to the middle
The players from the bench, I like the spirit #wwfc pic.twitter.com/iTF5pv2ZzF
— Nathan Judah (@NathanJudah) August 30, 2025
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The admission from Pereira echoed similar sentiments from Matt Doherty after Wolves lost 1-0 to Bournemouth.
The Irishman also said that the manager told them not to play through the middle, but they did not listen in the game, saying ‘Our game plan was to not play through the middle, but we did that and got punished.’
The Cherries’ only goal in the match resulted from giving the ball away in the middle of the pitch.
Wolves leaders need to start stepping up
With the same admission coming from both Pereira and Doherty, this signals a growing concern within the Wolves squad, rather than just a one-off mistake.
The inability to follow the manager’s instructions is a major concern. The Portuguese had a game plan to avoid going through the middle of the pitch, as that is where both Everton and Bournemouth could hurt Wolves.
However, in the game, that plan was abandoned by the players.
This is not a problem that can be solved in the transfer market. Instead, the new Wolves leadership group need to take charge.
They need to set the standard, and keep reminding the players of the tactical instructions. Perhaps if they did that, Wolves could already have earned their first points of the season.