Wolves were beaten again in the Premier League at the weekend, and now fans are not happy with something Gary O’Neil has said.
Wolves crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Manchester City at Molineux.
John Stones scored a late winner for City, which was controversial due to Bernardo Silva being in an office position.
Silva had been in front of Jose Sa for a City corner, but moved away from him as it came in and Stones headed in. He was deemed not to have interfered.
It was a very tough result to take for Wolves, who had put in a big defensive effort.
Gary O’Neil got his game plan spot on against the Premier League champions, and was genuinely unlucky not to take a point from the game.
But while the Wolves manager was praised for the way he set up his team, he has now been criticised for some comments he made about Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Gary O’Neil questions Jorgen Strand Larsen’s fitness
O’Neil has challenged Strand Larsen to improve his fitness for Wolves moving forward.
He said: “Jorgen gave everything, but I’ve spoken to him a lot, he needs to get through longer than an hour before he looks tired.
“I’m sure I get criticised for taking centre-forwards off, but Jorgen in every game has run his race after 60, 65 minutes. He’s either got cramp or he doesn’t look the same.”
Wolves fans are not happy
The comments O’Neil made about Strand Larsen have not been particularly well received by some Wolves fans on social media.
Strand Larsen got his third goal of the season for Wolves against City, and also worked very hard as he always does.
He was taken off around the 80-minute mark and replaced by Goncalo Guedes, having really put in a shift.
For some, O’Neil is attempting to deflect from his own shortcomings with his comments about Strand Larsen and others.
O’Neil is feeling the pressure
There can be little doubt that O’Neil is feeling the pressure at this point – and that is understandable given the results so far.
The Wolves board is backing O’Neil for now, but he needs a decent points haul from the next five games.
He mentioned a few players after the defeat to City. O’Neil stated that Andre struggled with the detail of the game.
Fans were also annoyed by comments O’Neil made about Jose Sa, when he suggested that he did not have a selection headache over him and Sam Johnstone ahead of the next game with Brighton. Some believe he is going to start Johnstone against the Seagulls despite Sa’s excellent performance against City.
Mentioning players publicly can sometimes suggest a manager is feeling the pressure. Hopefully, we do not see a situation where the O’Neil loses his dressing room.