Liam Keen
Published30th Mar 2026, 08:00 BST
Wolves have had five managers since Nuno Espirito Santo departed and they have never been able to replicate the same success.
Nuno actually lost the final three games of the 2020/21 season, as he bowed out with a 13th-placed finish in the Premier League.
Since then, there has been a running theme of Wolves running out of steam towards the end of a campaign, which has impacted the following season.
We have looked back at how it unravelled for previous bosses as Rob Edwards bids to avoid the same fate.
Bruno Lage
In 2021/22, Lage had Wolves fighting for Europe but some inconsistency in late February halted progress.
He did go on to beat Watford, Everton and Villa but Wolves finished the season without a single win in seven Premier League matches, drawing two.
Bruno Lageplaceholder image
Bruno Lage | Wolves
They finished 10th and despite it being a respectable final position, that poor end of the campaign bled into the summer.
Wolves failed to win any of their first five in the 2022/23 season and Lage was eventually sacked in early October, with Wolves having won one match in eight, picking up just six points.
Julen Lopetegui
After an interim period following Lage’s sacking, Lopetegui eventually took over in November 2022.
Over the next few months he managed to get enough results and consistency to drag Wolves off the bottom of the table to a 13th-placed finish.
New Wolves head coach Julen Lopetegui being unveiled in front of the pressplaceholder image
New Wolves head coach Julen Lopetegui being unveiled in front of the press | Getty
Of all the managers on this list Lopetegui had a better finish in terms of points gained, but he did lose two and draw one of his final three games, including a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on the final day of the season.
The summer that followed in 2023 was a disaster, with intense financial issues meaning Wolves spent very little, Lopetegui fell out with chairman Jeff Shi and eventually walked away from the job just days before the season began.
Gary O’Neil
In Wolves’ yo-yo few years, they somehow found themselves fighting in the top half under O’Neil, who managed to galvanise the group and bring the supporters on board.
He made sure Wolves were clear of relegation trouble before embarking on an exciting FA Cup campaign that saw Wolves beat rivals Albion at the Hawthorns.
But everything came crashing down in their late FA Cup quarter-final collapse against Coventry at Molineux.
Gary O'Neilplaceholder image
Gary O'Neil | Getty
Wolves threw the game away and a trip to Wembley away in mid-March and in the 10 Premier League games that followed, they won just one and earned only five points.
That disastrous end to the campaign impacted the summer and the start to 2024/25 as Wolves failed to win any of their first 10 top flight games.
After some embarrassing defeats, O’Neil was eventually sacked in December.
Vitor Pereira
Another rescue mission was needed and Pereira arrived, eventually keeping Wolves in the Premier League, alongside a record-breaking six-game winning run.
But following that, he lost three and drew one of his final four games as Wolves finished 16th.
Vitor Pereiraplaceholder image
Vitor Pereira | Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images.
That played a part in Wolves’ start to this season and after some dreadful recruitment, Wolves were quickly back in relegation trouble.
Pereira was unable to win a single top flight game before he was sacked in early November and replaced by Edwards.
Rob Edwards
The current head coach is unlikely to keep Wolves in the Premier League and will be given next season to mastermind a return to the top flight.
Wolves are unbeaten in three and have lost just one in their last six, which has included famous Molineux wins over Villa and Liverpool.
Following this enforced 25-day break in fixtures, Edwards will have seven matches remaining to buck the trend and have a good end to the campaign.
The head coach will need that positivity and momentum to take into a Championship push, while also bringing the fans with him for the journey.
With a favourable set of fixtures, Edwards now has a huge opportunity to set himself up for a crucial summer and a big 2026/27 season.
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