Thomas Frank believes Wolves are a more ‘energetic’ side these days under Gary O’Neil, as he hailed the Molineux head coach.
Wanderers are in action tonight against the Bees and are looking to build on the brilliant 2-1 win over Chelsea on Christmas Eve.
Goals from the superb Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty were enough for Wolves, who held off some late pressure from the Blues on Sunday.
It was a big three points, but with Luton Town beating Sheffield United on Boxing Day, the gap down to the relegation is only seven points so Wolves would like to pull further away.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank impressed by Wolves’ energy and organisation under Gary O’Neil
Brentford have been struggling a little in the Premier League of late, losing their last three games in a row.
They find themselves sitting in 14th place in the table ahead of this game, but victory for them tonight will take them above Wolves on goal difference.
But Brentford manager Thomas Frank knows his side will have to be on their game. It is not lost on him how good a side Wolves can be, and he believes there is one thing Wolves are showing much more under Gary O’Neil.
He said (Evening Standard): “(Wolves) are more energetic now. They are well organised, have got some really good players. You can see that they are trying to build something which looks promising for the future.”
Frank has a lot of respect for his opposite number O’Neil, and make a pretty big claim about what he did at Bournemouth before coming to Molineux.
“He (O’Neil) has done a good job,” he added. “I think he did a brilliant job at Bournemouth – keeping them up was one of the best achievements in the Premier League last year.”
After 18 games last season, Wolves had taken just 13 points and had a goal difference of -16. this time around after 18 games, Wolves have 22 points and a goal difference of -7.
Wolves players running for O’Neil
As much as Wolves have improved in the final third this season, it has also been noticeable that the players are running more.
Under Bruno Lage and sometimes even Julen Lopetegui, there could be periods of lethargy in Wolves games.
But O’Neil appears to have placed a lot of emphasis on pressing, and that starts from the players at the front. Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan are both workhorses and that is surely another major reason why O’Neil has played them both so much this season, as well as for their goals and assists.
You’ve then got players like Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes in midfield who are two fantastic ball-winners and have lots of energy to get about the pitch.
Wolves fans have been loving the energy and tenacity, and hopefully tonight we can see a performance like the one against Chelsea, and against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season.