Wolves manager Gary O’Neill says he understands the fan base’s anger towards him. But with pressure mounting following the defeat to West Ham, he defended his record at Molineux.
Wolves suffered a third successive defeat at the London Stadium to remain nine points adrift of the relegation zone, with four more due to safety concerns.
Sky Sports News Last week it was reported that Wolves had carried out due diligence on a number of candidates in recent weeks as pressure on O’Neil grew. O’Neil still believes he has the support of the hierarchy despite his poor form.
“The people above me are supportive,” said O’Neil, who joined the club in August 2023. sky sports After the game. “But of course supporters want their football club to succeed.
“I understand they are pointing fingers at me, it is my team and I have to take responsibility, but when I arrived at this football club they had just 41 points in the Premier League (the previous season).”
“From that moment on, we made £200 million from player sales: Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Daniel Podence, Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez, Diego Costa, Pedro Neto and Max Kilman.
“And we’re not just shopping in that market now, we’re looking for other people for the future who can help us now.
“As we discovered in the Premier League, it’s a ruthless league. The group is doing everything we can to get up to speed, but I’m really proud of them.
“We only have nine points and are in a difficult position in the league, but they are giving everything. So I hope the supporters are still proud of the players, even if they hate the position we are in. They won. Don’t hate them more than me. I am with them whether they know it or not.
“We’re not going to give up and we’re going to keep pushing. We’ve got a big game coming up against Ipswich and hopefully some of our little things, the referees’ little things, will go our way.”
Carragher: O’Neill doesn’t stop them – there’s no better manager in sight
Mario Lemina was taken to full-time after a scuffle.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher believes O’Neill is not the root of Wolves’ problems and says the new manager will not revive Molineux’s problems for the remainder of the season.
Carragher also echoed O’Neill’s claim that he was dealing with an inexperienced squad by selling many key players to big clubs.
“It’s a group of players that I think could be in this position right now,” Carragher said. “I think Wolves’ worry is less about finishing in the bottom three and more about being three or four points behind Leicester.
“If you look at the three promoted teams – the three promoted teams struggled last season. I think it could be difficult for Southampton this season, even Ipswich, but Leicester have got four points thanks to Ruud van Nistelrooy. There’s no doubt that the last two games will be on the minds of the Wolves organization.
“I don’t see a change in manager that will rejuvenate this whole team or that Gary O’Neill is holding this team back and they need to achieve more. I don’t really see it.
“There are definitely areas where I think O’Neill needs to get better. If you look at what he did last season and what he’s doing now and the work he’s done over the last 18 months, he’s done a good job at Wolves.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Things heated up after the full-time whistle from Jarrod Bowen and Mario Lemina.
“I think where they are right now is what most people feared last season. I don’t think it’s a coach to stop a group that needs to do more than they do.”
O’Neill: We should have had two penalties but West Ham’s winner was ‘crazy’
O’Neil got another swipe at VAR. West Ham’s winner through Jarrod Bowen should not have stood down because he committed a “flagrant” foul on Santi Bueno in the build-up, it was claimed.
As Wolves defended the free kick, Dinos Mavropanos challenged Bueno in the air while the on-field referee did not award a foul. Eleven seconds later, Mohammed Kudus set up Bowen to give him the win.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jarrod Bowen scores with a stunning strike to restore West Ham’s lead.
VAR argued that they could not go back and award Bueno a penalty because it was a new phase of play. This despite there being only 11 seconds between the foul being claimed and Bowen’s strike crossing the line.
“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” O’Neil said. “It (what VAR said was a new phase of play) is irrelevant because we would have cleared the ball because Santi Bueno would head it away.
“It’s a blatant foul on Santi Bueno and it can’t have been any other phase. The ball is still in the same area.”
“They will find a reason, of course they will. And I think there will be a gray area and the wording of the rule can be interpreted in many different ways, but it is a blatant foul on Bueno seconds before the goal. That is. “Blatant foul play.”
Later in the press conference, O’Neill claimed Wolves should have been awarded two penalties in the second half. VAR confirmed a foul on Emerson on Goncalo Guedes and Mavropanos on Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the second half, but stuck to the on-field decision of ‘no penalty’ on both occasions.
VAR decided not to penalize Emerson for a foul that had already booked Goncalo Guedes.
The Wolves boss added: “I understand how difficult it is for the executives but they need some of that to get their way.” “There were some really big calls there and we didn’t get our way.
“I don’t think Geddes is outside the box. The contact definitely continues inside the box, for sure. We will review it and have a frank conversation with them (PGMOL).
“Maybe it’s not as clear in (Bellegarde’s) case, but he fell twice. I think the on-field referee should have given it as well as the first time.”
Later in the game, VAR confirmed Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s trip to Dinos Mavropanos, but again denied the penalty option.
“I think Guedes… Emerson also got a yellow card, so I think it was a big turning point in the game.”
Wolves were further enraged as the corner kick for West Ham’s first goal was clearly hit by Hammers defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka. So it shouldn’t have been calculated.
“A lot of things went against us,” O’Neil said.
