Wolves are still recovering from their agonising FA Cup exit at the hands of Coventry City on Saturday, with journalist Liam Keen now identifying the key reason why it went wrong for the Old Gold.
It was a devastating way for Wolves’ FA Cup dream to end on Saturday, as Coventry City progressed to Wembley with a last-gasp win at Molineux.
The Championship side dug deep in injury time to turn the game on its head, scoring two late on to reverse the host’s comeback and book their place in the semi-finals.
Gary O’Neil and his players will be devastated by the result after the depleted squad managed to come back from behind to lead in stoppage time, with two shock goals from the Sky Blues then acting as a dagger to the Old Gold.
There could be a lengthy autopsy to determine exactly what went wrong on the day for Wolves however, most findings would lead to the lack of depth amid the squad’s current injury woes.
Liam Keen identifies the key reason that Wolves lost to Coventry City
One person who has pinpointed the potential answer to why Wolves saw the game slip away from them is journalist Liam Keen, who highlighted the frailties in the squad due to their list of absentees.
Speaking on The Keen & Judah Show to dissect the result, Keen said:
“If Wolves had a fully fit squad then they probably win that game in 90 minutes and at the very least go through to extra time and quality prevails.”
“The injuries in hindsight have played such a major part in Wolves losing their biggest game of the season.”
“It’s nothing but frustration from a fan point of view and I’m sure Gary O’Neil is the most frustrated to not have the players he needs available to get him through.”
Gary O’Neil faces a battle to keep up the momentum at Wolves
At the point of taking over from Julen Lopetegui just days before the 2023/24 campaign kicked off, O’Neil was aware of the struggles he would face with the shortened squad throughout the season.
The Old Gold were the subject of having to restrict their finances in the summer, seeing key players leave with no replacements able to be sourced due to FFP concerns.
The difficulties in the summer transfer window left Wolves short of having depth of first-team quality, one of the components that saw O’Neil’s side struggle in the latter stages against Coventry.
With 10 games remaining in the Premier League season, there is a potential European finish for Wolves to play for, with matters not made easy by key injuries falling at such a crucial stage of the campaign.