What is causing Wolves boss Vitor Pereira sleepless nights ahead of Newcastle United clash

Vitor Pereira has enjoyed a honeymoon period as manager of Wolves but the real work to achieve Premier League survival begins now.

Pereira has accumulated seven points from a possible 12 in his four Premier League games, with his only defeat coming against Nottingham Forest last week.

The Portuguese boss also oversaw Wolves 2-1 victory over Bristol City in the FA Cup, booking their place in the fourth round against Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

Dave Edwards commended Pereira for fielding a strong team in that match but whilst a cup run is brilliant for the club, survival is most important.

Wolves travel to European chasers Newcastle United on Wednesday night and Pereira will be boosted by the return of first-team stars Nelson Semedo, Matheus Cunha, Craig Dawson and Mario Lemina.

However, Chris Sutton is still predicting Newcastle to beat Wolves, in what is the beginning of a relentless fixture schedule.

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Vitor Pereira is having sleepless nights over Wolves’ fixture schedule

Pereira’s start to life at Molineux has gone relatively well and supporters have been mostly impressed with the impact he’s made since arriving.

The club’s fortunes are chalk and cheese from when Gary O’Neil was in charge as there is now genuine hope of the Old Gold surviving this term when most were resigned to relegation.

Now, Pereira is arguably entering the most testing period of his career in English football, as Wolves face a daunting fixture run.

In each of their next five Premier League matches, the Wanderers face teams who are all fighting for Europe or the league title, including Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool.

Unsurprisingly, this upcoming run of games is causing the manager sleepless nights, telling Wolves’ official website: “If I think about the next six games, I think I will not sleep – but I need to sleep and rest! We need to think about Newcastle. Newcastle is the most important game for us, because it’s the next one.

“We need to have confidence inside of us. I don’t believe in ‘Supermans’, it’s the other side – 11 players – against our side – 11 players – and we always have a chance.

“If we play against the best team in the world, we have our chance. If we play with the right energy, the right commitment, the right team spirit and if we face with courage, we can win.”

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Vitor Pereira explains the difference between football in Brazil and England

Pereira wants to take it one game at a time and he firmly believes that, although the odds are stacked against his side, they can pull off an upset against some of the division’s biggest clubs.

That being said, the 56-year-old has already realised what a huge step up it is going from managing in Brazil to the Premier League.

When he managed in Brazil, he remembered his side having more time to calm down in the game but in England, everything is 100 miles an hour and one mistake can undo everything.

“I spoke with Andre about this, because when he was in Fluminense, I was in Corinthians, and what the difference is, when you have a throw-in in Brazil, you have time to do it. You breathe a bit, you rest a bit, you calm down,” Pereira said.

“Here, when we have a free kick, when we have a corner, if you sleep for 10 seconds, you will wake up losing the game one-zero. This is the difference.

“The difference is because the game doesn’t stop here, the game never stops. You have to think fast. But this is something that I love – every time, you need to be connected and to be one step ahead.”