Wolves slipped to another defeat in the Premier League yesterday against Aston Villa.
Wanderers are now bottom of the Premier League table after five games, and there was more frustration yesterday as Wolves surrendered another lead.
After Matheus Cunha had put Wolves in front, Villa came back in the second-half with goals from Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and John Duran.
Once Watkins had equalised, many Wolves fans felt the contest was only going one way.
We saw the weekend before how Newcastle United were losing to Wolves but went on to win. And against Chelsea, Wolves completely fell apart in the second-half.
It’s been a tough start as expected, but last night on Match of the Day, Danny Murphy expressed his sympathy for O’Neil.
Danny Murphy offers perspective on Wolves and Gary O’Neil
This latest result at Villa has left many fans concerned.
It was a tough game on paper, but Wolves found themselves leading with around 20 minutes to go.
For one reason or another right now, Wolves are struggling to sustain a level for a whole game and this is something O’Neil simply has to address. If the Premier League table was based on first-half results, Wolves would currently be joint-seventh on eight points.
Given the fixture list, Murphy has some sympathy for O’Neil. He said on Match of the Day last night: “The start has been difficult for them. They have played some good teams and they have had spells in some of those games where they looked good, the first half against Chelsea, 70 minutes today, but we all know in the Premier League, you have got to do it over 90 minutes.
“I do feel for Gary a little bit. They lost Neto, they lost Kilman, arguably their two best players. They haven’t replaced them with the same quality, but some of those mistakes we saw need to be addressed so that they can move forward.”
O’Neil needs a result
The pressure is now cranking up on O’Neil, who has got to find a way of getting his side to play well for whole games. Or for longer than one half in games.
Murphy is right to an extent. Wolves have played well in several games this term, despite losing two key players in Pedro Neto and Max Kilman.
O’Neil has had credit in the bank for what he’s done so far, but there’s no doubt now that he really needs a result.
Before the game with Villa, it was reported that O’Neil’s job was not in danger. But a couple more defeats might just change the club’s stance.