Mario Lemina stole the limelight away from Gary O’Neil’s future at Molineux after Wolves were beaten by West Ham on Monday night.
Wolves tasted a 2-1 defeat against West Ham after Jarrod Bowen’s thunderous strike beat Sam Johnstone late in the second half.
It meant Gary O’Neil tasted a third successive Premier League defeat, with the chances of him being sacked increasing tenfold.
Surprisingly, when it seemed as though they’d pull the trigger, Wolves showed their support to O’Neil and he could now take charge in the relegation showdown against Ipswich on Saturday.
Ahead of the game, the 41-year-old has been dealt a blow as he will be without one of his key midfielders after he received a yellow card.
Is Joao Gomes suspended for Wolves clash vs Ipswich?
Brazilian star Joao Gomes started his 15th Premier League game of the campaign at the London Stadium alongside Mario Lemina and Andre.
Gomes has grown as a leader at Wolves recently, becoming a vital component in O’Neil’s engine room as a ball-winning machine.
Sadly, his ferocious and tough-tackling style of play puts him at risk of being suspended at points during the season.
Heading into the six-pointer against West Ham, Gomes had tallied four yellow cards in the top flight, meaning a caution fifth would result in a one-match suspension for the clash at home to Ipswich.
That yellow arrived in the second half when he brought down Crysencio Summerville and he was perhaps fortunate not to see red after directing his gestures of displeasure towards the referee.
The 23-year-old being out of action means Tommy Doyle will now need to step up for Wolves while O’Neil is forced to play Lemina.
Lemina deserves to be dropped but O’Neil needs to start him
Lemina was involved in a brawl at full-time as he let the anger get the better of him.
The 31-year-old caused some ugly scenes after the game, getting physical with Jarrod Bowen following a petty exchange and even squaring up to first-team coach Shaun Derry.
It was the sort of behaviour that saw Wolves fans ask for Lemina’s captaincy to be stripped as those actions represent him in a negative light.
Lemina has since apologised to Wolves, explaining how he got caught up in the heat of the moment and will use the setback as fuel to come back a better person.
In any normal circumstance, the £9m star would perhaps be dropped from the starting lineup to teach him a lesson, but O’Neil doesn’t have the depth available to axe the former Juventus man.
Instead, the midfield trio for the crucial clash against Ipswich is likely to be Andre, Doyle and Lemina, with the latter needing to get the supporters back on side, and fast.