Wolves continue the search for a new manager – but one man who will not be heading to Molineux is Rui Borges.
Vitor Pereira left Wolves on Sunday, with the 3-0 defeat to Fulham proving to be the final straw for the hierarchy.
They had wanted so badly for him to turn things around, having handed him a new contract in September.
But Pereira continued to struggle, and the performance against Fulham was simply atrocious. Following that, Pereira’s position at Wolves became untenable.
The search is now on for his successor.
Plenty of names have been mentioned already, with Rob Edwards currently the top target for Wolves.
But while Middlesbrough are nervous about Wolves’ interest in Edwards, the job will likely be a hard sell to the Englishman.
Other names such as Robbie Keane and Brendan Rodgers are in the frame, but one man who will not be taking the job is Rui Borges, who spoke about the Premier League at his press conference yesterday.
Rui Borges shares why Wolves job didn’t interest him
Borges was a name that came rather out of nowhere, and some were quite keen for the club to make an approach.
But Wanderers didn’t get that far, with reports suggesting Borges had no interest in taking up the Wolves job.
And those reports have proven to be accurate, because yesterday in his press conference, Borges actually fielded a question about managing in the Premier League.
And the answer he gave makes it clear there was zero chance of him pitching up at Molineux.
He said: “I’ll be as honest as possible. What brought us here was never, and this is natural, the financial aspect.
“Other countries have more economic power than Portugal. But that was never what motivated us. That’s perhaps why, to this day, I’m coaching Sporting.
“I’ve already said that my dream was to be national champion in my country. If I stay here for 10 years, I’ll be the happiest coach in the world.
“Money has never been my motivation. Of course, I want to give my family and assistants a better life, but that’s not my focus.
“My dream was to get here, be champion, and I achieved it. I’m living my dream, and may it continue. If I stay here for many years, I’ll be very happy.”
Wolves now eyeing UK manager
So Borges will not be Wolves’ next manager, as it’s clear he’s very focused on trying to win another title with Sporting.
A move for him was always going to be unlikely, given that he won the title last season and is also a Champions League manager.
It seems Wolves are now seeking a UK manager to succeed Pereira, which will only increase the speculation around Edwards, with O’Neil out of the running.
But that doesn’t mean Wolves appointing a foreign coach should be entirely ruled out.