According to Gary O’Neil and assistant head coach Tim Jenkins, Wolves have one key thing to improve on this summer.
The summer preparations for the 2024/25 campaign have got off to a strong start for Wolves, who will hope to improve in their second season under Gary O’Neil.
O’Neil arrived just days before the 2023/24 calendar got underway, giving the boss little time to prepare for the season that saw the Old Gold finish 14th in the Premier League table.
While adding new faces and correcting the wrongs of last term are at the top of the manager’s list, assistant head coach Tim Jenkins explained a crucial element the coaching staff hope to see next term.
Gary O’Neil wants to see more competition within his Wolves squad next season
Wolves’ focus is on their upcoming pre-season tour of the United States, where the Old Gold will face West Ham, Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig.
Prior to their return to Compton Park, the squad were in Marbella at a training camp, where Express and Star journalist Liam Keen got an insight into the pre-season action.
Keen caught up with Wolves assistant head coach Jenkins, where O’Neil’s number two expressed the coaching staff’s desire to see one thing happen next season.
When alluding to the new signings the club have made, Jenkins admitted that there had been a conversation between O’Neil and the players about the need for increased competition.
“It [new signings] also creates competition and we spoke to the players about why they need that to get better.
“We all know in certain points of last season where we didn’t have that at all.”
The arrivals of Jorgen Strand Larsen, Pedro Lima and Rodrigo Gomes see three new faces able to compete for places in the starting XI, which in turn should promote higher individual performance to impress.
Competition is crucial if Wolves want to progress
Jenkins is right to comment on last season’s struggle for depth, as O’Neil was left without any options towards the latter stages of the campaign.
Wolves’ lack of depth resulted in a significant dip in form, as the Old Gold won just one of their final 10 Premier League games of 2023/24.
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The manager was stripped of the ability to rotate his squad due to injuries, and the lack of numbers in the squad saw a level of complacency sink in for some.
Adding further competition for places is only positive, as Wolves bid to progress from their 14th-place finish last term.
With a point to prove to earn game time and starting positions, individual performance levels should naturally be raised, reinforcing Jenkins and O’Neil’s wish to promote competition in the side.