Wolves made it six wins in a row against Leicester City – and Lee Naylor noticed something in the warm -up that he’s actually never seen before.
Wolves are the most in-form team in Europe right now, which is something fans certainly did not see coming.
Wanderers have found new confidence under Vitor Pereira, and enjoyed a perfect April.
Pereira will surely be named Manager of the Month for his exploits, becoming the first Wolves manager to win since Bruno Lage in January 2022.
It would be thoroughly deserved, for a man who has totally transformed the club.
Pereira has done so many good things in his short time at Molineux so far.
But perhaps one of the most significant things he’s done is to get Wolves to be more solid defensively, after the defence was all over the place under Gary O’Neil.
And it’s clear a lot of work has gone into the defence, with Lee Naylor spotting something in the warm-up on Saturday.
Wolves defence warmed up as a collective before Leicester
Under O’Neil, Wolves were a shambles at the back.
Goals were going in left, right and centre – and that’s not even including set-pieces.
Under O’Neil in the Premier League this season, Wolves kept just one clean sheet, and conceded 40.
Under Pereira, Wolves have kept six clean sheets in the league, and conceded 21.
There has been a clear emphasis on improving this part of the team, and Naylor noticed that the defence actually warmed up together as a collective before taking on Leicester on Saturday.
He said on Matchday Live Extra: “He knew what he had to do. He knew he had to get that defence together. Working hard and you can see it on the pitch.
“I’ve never seen it before, I’ve never seen the back four or five working like 20 minutes, 30 minutes before a game on their system. I’ve never seen it.
“I’ve seen individual stuff. But I’ve never seen that. He’s just a freshness, a togetherness. And he’s connected with the fans.”
The single most important thing Pereira had to do at Wolves
The way Wolves had been playing up until Pereira’s arrival was completely unsustainable.
To have shipped 40 goals in just 16 Premier League games was atrocious, and Pereira simply had to fix the issues at the back, which would mean the contributions of the attacking players wouldn’t go to waste.
Wolves now look a totally different outfit.
One of the main reasons for this is the signing of Emmanuel Agbadou, who has been a game-changer of a signing.
He has been extremely impressive and also improved the players around him, with Toti Gomes perhaps in the best form he’s ever been in for Wolves.