Wolves lost 2-0 to Brighton at the weekend, and momentum has just slowed a little over the past couple of weeks.
Wanderers could not bounce back from the defeat to Manchester City, and were beaten at Molineux by the Seagulls.
Danny Welbeck scored from the penalty spot after a foul on Mats Wieffer by Matheus Cunha.
Then, after several failed attacks by Wolves in the second half, Brighton killed the game when Brajan Gruda scored his first goal for the club.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Wolves, who perhaps missed Jorgen Strand Larsen. The Norwegian was only fit enough to come off the bench rather than start the game.
After the game, Vitor Pereira admitted there was something about Wolves’ performance that he didn’t like.
Vitor Pereira says Wolves played without ‘tactical intelligence’ against Brighton
Since Pereira took over at Wolves, fans have seen an identity.
And that identity is to push the wing-backs high and wide when in possession. And then to press from the front relentlessly when out of possession.
Wolves can be patient with their build-up, but have also shown more of a tendency to go direct.
Against Brighton though, Wolves seemingly lost their identity a bit, and Pereira believes he saw a lack of tactical intelligence from his side in the second half – something he has not seen before.
He said: “In the second half, it was a completely unpredictable game. It was an open game and this is the kind of game I don’t like.
“When it’s physical with transitions, we lose the ball, they counter-attack, they lose the ball, we counter-attack, they come again, we come again. It’s like tennis! This is not for me.”
“I think this was the first match that I watched my team playing like this. In an open game, running without organisation, without tactical intelligence.
“We lost the game, we lost three points, and now we must look to the future and start to correct things in training.”
Pereira did make a quadruple substitution against Brighton in an attempt to change the flow of the game, but Wanderers could not improve their organisation or find a breakthrough.
Wolves players needed a result like Brighton defeat
It is interesting to hear Pereira talk about the second half and how he felt there was no tactical intelligence from his players.
Wolves have been brilliant over the past six weeks or so. Even against Manchester City, Wolves could have been a couple of goals up.
But Wolves rather lost their way at times against Brighton.
In a way, Wolves needed this kind of defeat. It will, in theory, encourage everyone to think more carefully about what they’re doing and stop complacency creeping in.