It is looking like Vitor Pereira will keep Wolves in the Premier League, with the Portuguese guiding the club to nine points clear of the relegation zone.
Vitor Pereira succeeded Gary O’Neil at Wolves in December, and was given one clear objective by Fosun – the keep the club in the top-flight of English football.
Wolves had been atrocious defensively under O’Neil, and keep to making any kind of improvement would be to tighten up a the back.
Pereira has done that, overseeing five clean sheets. But it hasn’t really come at the expense of attacking threat, which has been positive to see.
Wolves fans lauded Pereira after he suggested celebrating at the pub with supporters, after the win over Southampton.
He is striking a chord with the supporters, and Dave Edwards reckons Pereira is looking to form a special connection with Wolves fans just like Nuno Espirito Santo did.
He has perhaps never been as popular, and journalist Liam Keen has now shed some light on what Pereira is supposedly like behind the scenes.
Vitor Pereira has impressed behind the scenes at Wolves
Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images
Pereira comes across as a manager who doesn’t stand for nonsense.
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In press conferences and interviews, he is often serious, professional and engaging.
But behind the scenes, Pereira has impressed with how he conducts himself, as Liam Keen revealed all on the latest E&S podcast.
He said: “I see him sticking around. The reasons being, one if Wolves stay up, he’s under contract for another year, so all of next season as well.
“If he does a good job there’s obviously a possibility of him getting an extension to that as well. It’s something he’ll be pushing for, he’s desperate to be in the Premier League and desperate to be here.
“Behind the scenes, what he’s like to deal with for us, but also for people we speak to for the club when we’re not there day-to-day… I’ve had nothing but positive things from everyone really about how he interacts with people, how he speaks to people. The respect he has for people and how easy he is to get on with everyone.
“So I think from both a professional and personal point of view, people have been pretty impressed with him and would like him to stay around. But obviously results are key, and he has to continue to build the team in his identity, continue to make the team in his vision.”
Keen’s Pereira verdict is refreshing to hear
Pereira has made an impressive start at Wolves in footballing terms, having improved the team and gotten points on the board.
But it’s so refreshing to here that he is a respectful and decent human being behind the scenes.
And that perhaps is a factor behind Wolves’ improvements on the pitch in recent weeks. If Pereira has created a good environment where everyone’s happy, then surely players are naturally going to play better.
It’s still very early days for the Portuguese.
But it’s been a while now since this club experienced good times. He might just be the man to bring them back to Molineux.