Wolves find themselves in a mess at the bottom of the Premier League and Vitor Pereira has been tasked with picking up the pieces.
Wolves appointed Vitor Pereira on Thursday afternoon, finally replacing Gary O’Neil as manager after 16 months in charge.
Pereira enters through the doors at Molineux at a difficult time with the club in 19th position, and five points from escaping the bottom three.
However, the Portuguese boss is relishing the challenge ahead, as Pereira explained why he chose Wolves over managing several other English clubs.
Ahead of the trip to Leicester City this weekend, in what is a relegation six-pointer, the 56-year-old also commented on the captaincy situation.
Vitor Pereira hints at removing Nelson Semedo as captain
One issue Wolves have had since Ruben Neves left is a distinct lack of leaders in the squad. The Portuguese handed over the captain’s armband to Max Kilman following his exit last year.
In his only season as captain before leaving for West Ham this summer, Wolves fans questioned whether he was the right man, as the Englishman wasn’t seen as a leadership presence.
O’Neil decided to replace Kilman with Mario Lemina as captain. Some supporters were behind this decision at first however, it ended on a sour note.
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Lemina was stripped of his Wolves captaincy last week after he was involved in a post-match scuffle against West Ham, even hitting first-team coach Shaun Derry.
Nelson Semedo then replaced Lemina, though just a week after being given the responsibility, new manager Pereira has hinted there could be a change.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Pereira said he ‘will decide the captain’ after studying the squad and understanding where the leaders are on the pitch.
“He’s a very good boy, a good personality,” the new boss said of Semedo via journalist Liam Keen.
“I’m trying to understand where the leaders are on the pitch, I am studying. It is not time to decide, after I will decide the captain.”
O’Neil naming Semedo as captain was always risky
Semedo, whose contract expires in 2025, was always going to be seen as a risky captain decision.
The right-back, although an important member of the squad, isn’t a proper leadership presence, but neither are most of the Wolves squad.
Wolves want to give Semedo a new contract but the 31-year-old shouldn’t be surprised if he loses the armband, as Pereira will want to stamp his authority on the squad.
If he does remove the Portuguese as captain and choose someone else, not only would it be the shortest tenure in the club’s history, but also the sixth captain they’ve had in four years.
Realistically, the next person to don the armband must be someone who is guaranteed to be here for the long term and capable of leading by example exactly like Neves did.