Gary O’Neil not facing sack despite angry backlash to Wolves defeat

Under-pressure manager backed to turn things around after defeat at Brentford, with side on run of one win in 17 Premier League matches

Wolves are retaining their complete support for Gary O’Neil and will give him time to reverse the team’s alarming decline.
O’Neil has lost six of his seven Premier League matches so far this season with Wolves bottom of the table after the chaotic 5-3 defeat at Brentford on Saturday.
Supporters angrily turned on the manager and the players during Saturday’s match, with O’Neil admitting it was the worst performance he has ever experienced as a manager.
Yet, while there was concern among senior officials at Wolves over the performance at Brentford, there is a determination to fully back the manager through their poor run.
O’Neil signed a new four-year contract in August after an impressive first season at Molineux, and the view internally is that he deserves time to show he has the ability and leadership to turn the club’s situation around.
Though Wolves have scored nine goals – more than eight other clubs in the division – the major concern has been their defence with a league-high 21 against so far.
With matches against champions Manchester City and Brighton after the international break, O’Neil may reconsider whether to make Wolves more difficult to beat.
Last season the side appeared more comfortable with a back five – three centre-backs and two wing-backs – and O’Neil could return to that.
Wolves are also mindful that the fixture list has been unkind so far this season, with defeats against Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Liverpool already.
Analytics company Opta revealed in August that O’Neil would face the hardest opening 10 games of any manager in the Premier League this season.
The loss at Brentford is regarded as the outlier and the first genuinely worrying performance of the season.
In November, Wolves face Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham and Bournemouth in a four-match sequence they will expect to pick up points from.
Concerned supporters, however, point to the poor results at the end of last season which now means O’Neil’s run is one win from 17 league matches.
Behind the scenes, Wolves are united, with chairman Jeff Shi and sporting director Matt Hobbs keen to support O’Neil through this run. In a joint interview with Telegraph Sport last week, Shi and Hobbs both spoke highly of O’Neil and his work ethic.
After the Brentford defeat, O’Neil said: “It’s the furthest I’ve seen the group from what we wanted to look like.
“It’s the worst game I’ve been involved in as a coach. This is the first evidence that we need a rethink.”
The strength of the wolf is in the pack, and that needs to be truer than ever at Molineux in these next few weeks.