Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui hasn’t been happy with his forward players, which is why he’s chopped and changed so much.
Wanderers fell to a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United yesterday in the Premier League.
It was an opportunity to pull further clear of the relegation zone after a great win over Tottenham Hotspur the weekend before.
Newcastle were in poor form heading into the game. But Wolves struggled, especially in the first-half.
At 1-1 Wanderers did start to play well.
But Julen Lopetegui changed the system to go with a back three and wing-backs.
And that decision might have cost Wolves.
It was another afternoon that saw Lopetegui tinker with his team a lot.
To start with, he made four changes to his starting XI. He then used all five substitutions, the first of which came at half-time with Pedro Neto replacing Adama Traore.
Speaking after the game, Hasselbaink suggested the manager is still searching for consistency and the right formula at Wolves. And he suggested the Spaniard hasn’t been happy with his attacking players.
He said post-match on Sky Sports: “He’s looking for it. He’s obviously not happy with what his forward players are producing. So he’s looking for the right formula.
“Sometimes, you just need to stick with one bunch and just give them five matches. He’s not in that luxury in this moment, because they need points.”
Julen Lopetegui makes a lot of changes for Wolves, but he mostly gets it right
Hasselbaink makes a fair point – sometimes it does pay dividends to use the same players so that they build up momentum and an understanding with each other.
Lopetegui has not been shy to make changes to his team, and for the most part it does pay off when he tinkers.
Yesterday though he arguably got it wrong moving to a back three and wing-backs.
Hasselbaink may be right that Lopetegui doesn’t have the luxury of being able to call on the same players right now.
The forwards just haven’t been producing, and so it is natural for the manager to try different solutions.