Wolves sacked head coach Vitor Pereira on Sunday morning.placeholder image
Wolves sacked head coach Vitor Pereira on Sunday morning. | Getty Images
Wolves are on the search for a new manager after sacking Vitor Pereira
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ search for a new manager is underway, after Portuguese head coach Vitor Pereira was sacked by the West Midlands club on Sunday morning with the Molineux outfit winless after ten Premier League matches.
The top flight’s bottom club lot 3-0 away at Fulham on Saturday - who had previously been sat 17th after poor form of their own - and that was the final straw for the Wolves hierarchy, who parted ways with Pereira just 45 days after he had signed a new contract with the club.
Whoever comes in next has a huge task on their hands to prevent Wolves’ eight-season stay in the Premier League from coming to an end, with the Old Gold already eight points from safety having picked up just two draws. The fact that they have lost to all three promoted clubs, all of whom sit outside the bottom three, is all the more concerning. No side has ever stayed up having picked up two or less points after ten Premier League games.
Gary O’Neil and Rob Edwards considered for Wolves job
O’Neil was the club’s previous manager before Pereira, but was in charge for just 16 months before being sacked less than a year ago. The 42-year-old is now reportedly close to a sensational return to Molineux, with ‘positive’ talks having been opened according to reports by BBC Sport.
Former West Ham United and QPR midfielder O’Neil is not the only candidate being considered. Middlesbrough head coach Rob Edwards, also 42, is also on the shortlist for the role, though a move for the former Luton Town boss would prove more complicated considering the financial implications to get him out of his current employment with ‘Boro, who are second in the Championship.
Edwards featured more than 100 times for Wolves during his playing career, before going on to manage the club’s academy after his retirement from playing in 2013. He spent a short spell as the club’s interim manager in 2016. The Middlesbrough boss is best known for leading Luton to promotion to the Premier League in 2022/23.
London clashes with Chelsea and Crystal Palace on horizon for next Wolves boss
Should Wolves have a new manager in place by this weekend, their first task will be a trip to Chelsea on Saturday evening to face Enzo Maresca’s Club World Cup-winning side.
The Blues have had a mixed start to the new season but are joint-fifth in the Premier League despite this, and scored nine times in two victories against Wolves last season, including a 6-2 thumping at Molineux. Chelsea won 4-3 in a thrilling Carabao Cup clash at Wolves last week in what would be Pereira’s penultimate match in charge.
Crystal Palace are then next up for struggling Wanderers after the international break, and that will prove no easier a test against Oliver Glasner’s confident Eagles side. The FA Cup holders have already beaten champions Liverpool three times this season and sit just a point below Chelsea in ninth.
Wolves’ new boss will then have to contend with fixtures against Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Arsenal, and will have a tough task on their hands if they are to begin getting points on the board before Christmas.
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