Wolves may have lost 3-0 against Newcastle United on Wednesday night but it was the actions of Mario Lemina that stole the headlines, admittedly for all the wrong reasons.
In a crucial clash at St James’ Park, Vitor Pereira would have wanted his preparations to go swimmingly well but Mario Lemina prevented that from happening.
Just moments before the visitors kicked off their 3-0 defeat against Newcastle, Lemina refused to play for Wolves amid speculation linking him with a move out of Molineux.
It left many outraged, and rightfully so, with fans urging Wolves to sell Lemina immediately after his disgraceful actions.
The Gabon international appeared to have no future at the club at that moment however, a lot can change in a few days and now Pereira could have made a dramatic U-turn, which hasn’t gone down well with the supporters.
Wolves fans are furious after Mario Lemina apologises to Vitor Pereira
There is such thing as a second chance in any walk of life and the Wolves manager confirmed that Lemina apologised to Pereira for his actions before the Newcastle clash.
Perhaps regretting his decision to not play in a huge game when his teammates needed him most, the 31-year-old claims he’s ‘ready to do his best for the team’.
Although it’s good he’s accepted he’s in the wrong and owned up to his decision, he’s already burned the bridges with the Wolves fans and they aren’t prepared to forgive the midfielder.
“Nah, man, I’m happy that he had the balls to grovel back and apologise, but why make the issue in the first place? You were loved by us, the fans,” one supporter said in response to the comments.
“Erm no,” another simply responded while a third stated: “Made his bed. He has to lie in it.”
One fan likened Lemina’s incident to how Matheus Nunes exited Wolves, a comparison that was made by Nathan Judah after the game.
“Get out. Right now,” a fifth said abruptly while another fan replied: “Bin him off.”
“Aka doesn’t want his wages docking,” a seventh responded.
Vitor Pereira has to remove Lemina from the squad
In recognising his importance to the team, it appears Pereira is willing to forgive Lemina for what he did but that is the wrong decision.
Once a player refuses to play for a club, there’s no going back and including him in the squad or giving him minutes would only result in boos.
The above comments from the fans suggest they will never forgive Lemina and he has to accept he’s never winning back the loyal fanbase.
With Al Shabab and Galatasaray interested in Lemina, the best thing the club can do is move him on this month as they can ill-afford to carry a bad egg in the dressing room when they’re fighting for their lives.
It sets a bad precedent for everyone involved while creating disharmony within a squad that has experienced a lot of hard times this season.