Wolves remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after losing to Burnley – and Lee Naylor was left perplexed by one decision Vitor Pereira made.
Wolves lost 3-2 to the Clarets, conceding right at the death to Lyle Foster.
Molineux then turned toxic, with fans in the South Bank venting their anger towards Vitor Pereira and Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Pereira felt the fans should have been showing support in a tough moment, and was seemingly left frustrated himself when his attempts to diffuse the tensions fell on deaf ears.
The mood is now the worst it has been for quite some time.
Wolves are in a world of trouble, and plenty have already resigned themselves to watching the club fall into the Championship at the end of this season.
Simply put, Wolves’ squad is not good enough.
But even despite that, Vitor Pereira is more than ready to axe his better players.
Lee Naylor left shocked after Joao Gomes was benched against Burnley
We have seen Andre get benched a couple of times this season. That left supporters surprised.
And on Sunday, it was Joao Gomes’ turn to drop out of the starting XI – something that has not happened all season in the Premier League.
There is no doubt that Gomes hasn’t reached the heights we know he can this season. But that can be said of most of the players in the squad.
For Lee Naylor, the manager’s call to leave him out against Burnley – the biggest game of the season – was perplexing.
He said: “It just baffles me, how Joao Gomes isn’t starting the game. If he hasn’t got an injury that is. Him and Andre together as a partnership are huge for us. They’re huge. And that’s defending and attacking, because both of them offer everything, defensively and going forward.
“They let others play, they have that quality with them as well, which I think was missing (today). It was 100% missing from the game.”
Joao Gomes makes new promise to Wolves fans
Pereira certainly raised eyebrows dropping Gomes against Burnley.
While he has not been in the best form, to drop him for the biggest game of the season – that he himself labelled must-win – was a questionable call.
His replacement Jean-Ricner Bellegarde did actually play well, so Pereira can perhaps justify his decision.
But who knows if Gomes’ energy from the start might have resulted in a different outcome.
Gomes is a player Wolves fans know definitely cares deeply about the current situation. Indeed, Gomes was one of a few players who properly fronted up to the South Bank after yesterday’s game had finished.
He then took to social media after to acknowledge Wolves’ long winless run, and promised fans that the players will work hard and give their best.
Some will still find those words hollow. But he will be hurting more than most about this shocking situation, and fans can bank on him personally to dig deep.