Vitor Pereira has experimented with various tactics in recent weeks, but he may have finally found a setup worth deploying permanently.
The manager previously tried to mirror Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves success with formation flexibility, switching between a 3-5-2 and a 3-4-3, but the team often looked disjointed.
Pereira also planned to persist with inverted wing-backs, an approach that saw some success against Newcastle.
Despite his tactical tweaks, the 57-year-old has been unable to secure any points from Wolves’ first five league games this season.
However, the Portuguese manager appears to have abandoned those ideas, and instead he has hinted at sticking with the system Wolves used for the first time in his tenure against Everton.
Vitor Pereira pleased as Wolves adapt successfully to back-four system
For the first time since taking charge of Wolves midway through last season, Pereira abandoned his back five and deployed a back-four system.
The players looked comfortable in the setup, and Everton struggled to cope with the new tactical approach.
The hosts controlled large periods of the game, showing cohesion and confidence in their roles.
Speaking in an official Wolves interview, Pereira expressed satisfaction with how his side successfully adapted to the back-four against Everton.
He said: “I’m here not to please myself, but to find solutions, to try to put my players in comfortable positions, to feel comfortable, to play at their level. Today, I liked it.
“Sometimes we used to say that we need to change to get different things. Today, I think we did it.
“At this moment, we can use both formations.”
Why Pereira needs to stick with a back-four against Spurs
Wolves’ next run of fixtures could ultimately define Pereira’s future at the club and therefore the manager must make bold tactical decisions.
Thomas Frank’s Spurs will be preparing to face a back-five system, so this unexpected switch to a back four could give the Old Gold an advantage.
The back-four setup is a more positive approach, allowing Wolves to push forward and seek an early advantage before potentially reverting to a back five to manage the game.
Pereira’s system is very fluid, meaning the back four can seamlessly shift into a five when needed.
The system suits the technical quality and attacking threat of the Wolves squad, meaning they can play to their strengths against Spurs