Gary Neville speaks on Premier League as Sky Sports pundit (left)
Gary Neville speaks on Premier League as Sky Sports pundit (left)
Wolves managed to secure Premier League safety with relative ease in the end, but there was a time when some thought they were certain for the drop.
Wolves were tipped for a ‘tough’ time heading into the campaign, and that would be the case under Gary O’Neil.
Leaking goals and dropping points, O’Neil was eventually sacked in December, with Wolves languishing in 19th place.
It was this barren run of form that led many to think that Wolves were destined for the drop – Gary Neville included.
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Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Gary Neville thought Wolves would be relegated
Given that Wolves had failed to win any of their first ten Premier League games, it’s fair to say that the Molineux outfit were sinking under O’Neil.
Neville himself thought that Wolves weren’t able to turn the tide, telling the ‘It’s Called Soccer’ podcast in December that he thought they were destined for the drop even after O’Neil’s sacking.
“Relegation… Southampton, definitely, I think Ipswich will go and I’m going to say Wolves,” Neville said.
“I watched Wolves against Liverpool and, to be fair, Liverpool weren’t great in the game at all but they didn’t have to be and Wolves were absolutely awful and I thought, ‘Oh no!’.
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“So I think Wolves are probably gonna go, unless they can do something in the January transfer window.”
Neville wasn’t to know that Wolves would be transformed by Vitor Pereira – but his prediction is now looking rather diminished after the Portuguese manager’s heroics.
Jamie Carragher is a huge fan of Vitor Pereira
Whilst Neville wasn’t very positive of Wolves’ chances under Pereira, his fellow Sky Sports colleague Jamie Carragher has been very complimentary of the Molineux manager.
Speaking on Monday Night Football back in April, the former Liverpool defender hailed the managerial exploits of Pereira.
“I think for a large part of this season, we all thought that Wolves were a class above the teams that were promoted. The manager has done a superb job since he came in.
“He was the guy who almost got the Everton job a couple of years ago as well, and Frank Lampard got the job instead in the end.”
Carragher then added: “The biggest difference has been from the manager.”