Matt Murray has issued a damning verdict of Wolves’ performance against Fulham, with Vitor Pereira officially getting the sack.
Wolves remain rock bottom of the Premier League table after losing 3-0 at Craven Cottage.
Pereira rolled the dice by dropping both Joao Gomes and Andre to the bench – and it was a decision that backfired spectacularly.
Wolves were simply awful down in London, with Fulham – who were on a four-game losing streak coming into the game – in complete control of the contest.
Wolves perhaps got a little unlucky when Josh King was cleared by VAR following what looked like a handball, before Emmanuel Agbadou’s last-man challenge promoted a red card.
But Wolves were that poor, the outcome may not have been much different to what it was.
Fans have been scathing in their assessment of the performance – and Matt Murray’s verdict was utterly damning.
Matt Murray blasts Wolves’ performance vs Fulham and says time’s up for Vitor Pereira
This was a winnable game for Wolves, despite how bad things have been.
Fulham have been poor lately, and were on a four-game losing streak. Wolves also did well in the second-half against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
But Pereira seemed to take away all hope before a ball was even kicked with the starting XI he chose.
To not select both Joao Gomes and Andre was completely negligible, and it was no surprise to see Wolves produce an abysmal display.
Former goalkeeper Matt Murray was scathing in his assessment on talkSPORT yesterday, admitting he’s never seen a worse performance in all the time he’s been associated with Wolves.
He said: “I remember Wolves beating Manchester United 2-0 on Boxing Day and he had the place rocking, they were singing his (Pereira’s) name, they were loving him. How far off that performance was today.
“He signed a new contract, he has overseen these players coming in. These players were so far off it. It was one of the worst Wolves performances I’ve actually seen and I’ve been involved with Wolves since I was nine years of age.
“Really, really disappointing. I can’t believe what I’m seeing, and like Jamie’s (O’Hara) saying there, at the moment, they look like they’re gone. I don’t see how he comes back from it. I really, really don’t.
“Gary O’Neil lost his job when Wolves didn’t win in 10 games. Vitor Pereira’s got a bit of credit in the bank, but I don’t see how he comes back from this.”
And of course, there was indeed no coming back for Pereira, who has now been relieved of his duties. Wolves officials apparently made their minds up on Pereira after the full-time whistle, with the Portuguese learning of that decision on Sunday morning.
Pereira had to go, with Wolves in dire straits
Wolves hierarchy had been keen to back Pereira, despite how bad things have been recently.
But after yesterday’s defeat to Fulham, there could be no defence of the Portuguese.
It had been clear for some time that he did not have the answers. He was at the forefront of Wolves’ summer recruitment and had been unable to find a way of getting them to work.
It hasn’t mattered which formation he’s gone with. Wolves have looked awful regardless.
And then, to drop your two best players for a must-win game is just unforgivable.
Pereira is obviously not solely to blame for the mess. But he was making Wolves’ situation worse by the week and simply had to go.