Wolves manager Gary O’Neill has said he understands his own fan base is angry at him, but said he was at Molineux after the pressure mounted following the defeat to West Ham. defended his record.
Wolves suffered their third successive defeat at the London Stadium and remain in the relegation zone with nine points, with four points remaining in the safety zone.
sky sports news As pressure mounts on O’Neal, we reported last week that the Timberwolves have been conducting due diligence on a number of candidates in recent weeks. Despite his poor performance, O’Neal believes he still has the support of his class.
“The people above me are supportive,” said O’Neill, who joined the club in August 2023. sky sports After the match. “But of course supporters want their football club to be successful.
“I understand that they are pointing fingers at me and it’s my team and I have to take responsibility, but when I came to this football club they just did the right thing. was accepted.” [41] Premier League (previous season) points.
“Since that moment, we have been able to earn £200 million from player sales, including Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Daniel Podence, Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez, Diego Costa and Pedro Neto. Max Kilman.
“And we’re not just shopping in that market now, we’re looking for other markets for the future that will help us now.
“As we know in the Premier League, it’s a ruthless league. The group is trying their best to get up to speed. But I’m really proud of them.”
“We know they are in a difficult position in the league with only nine points, but they are giving their all. So even if they don’t like the position we are in, the supporters will support the players. “I hope they’re proud of me. They won.” I’m with them whether they know it or not.
“We’re not going to give up and we’re going to keep pushing. We have a big game coming up against Ipswich and hopefully some of the little things, things from us, things from the officials, will help us on our way.” ”
Carragher: “O’Neill hasn’t held them back. There’s no better manager.”
Mario Lemina dragged out full-time after brawl
Sky Sports” Jamie Carragher believes O’Neill is not the root of Wolves’ problems and believes the new manager will not reinvigorate things at Molineux for the remainder of the season.
Carragher also sympathized with O’Neill’s assertion that he was dealing with an inexperienced team that had sold many key players to big clubs.
“This is a group of players that we felt would be in or around these positions at the moment,” Carragher said. “The worrying thing for Wolves is not so much the fact that they are in the bottom three, but the fact that they look like they are three or four points behind Leicester.
“If you look at the three promoted teams, you would think this season might be tough for Southampton and even Ipswich because last season the three teams that were promoted were struggling, but Leicester We have made a change and Ruud van Nistelrooy has taken four points in the league.”That will be on the minds of the Wolves boss for the last two games, there is no doubt about that.
“I don’t think a managerial change would revitalize the whole team or Gary O’Neill is holding this team back and they should be able to do more, but I don’t think so.
“There are definitely areas where I think O’Neal needs to improve more. If you look at what he did last season and what he’s doing now, as a body of work over the last 18 months, I think I think he did a good job for the Wolves.
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Things got heated after Jarrod Bowen and Mario Lemina’s full-time whistle
“I think what got them here now is what most people feared last season. I don’t think a manager should do any more than they’re doing, holding the team back.”
O’Neill: There should have been two penalties – and it’s ‘crazy’ that West Ham won
O’Neill took another shot at VAR, insisting West Ham’s winner by Jarrod Bowen should not have been put into the stands due to a “blatant” foul on Santi Bueno in the build-up.
As Wolves defended the free kick, Dinos Mavropanos challenged Bueno in the air and the field referee did not give a foul. Eleven seconds later, Mohamed Kudus set up Bowen and calmly scored the winner.
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Jarrod Bowen’s stunning strike puts West Ham back in the lead.
VAR claimed it could not go back and penalize Bueno because it was a new phase of play, even though there was only 11 seconds between the alleged foul and Bowen crossing the goal line. .
“It’s crazy,” O’Neal said. “Santi Bueno is going to head the ball, so it doesn’t matter.” [that the VAR said it’s a new phase of play] Like we cleared the ball.
“This is a blatant foul on Santi Bueno and cannot be in another phase. The ball is still in the same area.
“They will find a reason, of course they will, and I understand there is a gray area and the wording of the rules can be interpreted in different ways, but for Bueno in the seconds before the goal, it was blatant. That’s a blatant foul. ”
In a subsequent press conference, O’Neill claimed that Wolves should have been awarded two penalties in the second half. VAR checked fouls by Emerson on Gonzalo Guedes and Mavropanos on Jean-Richner Bellegarde in the second half, but stuck with an on-field ruling of “no penalty” in both cases.
VAR chose not to punish Emerson’s suspected foul on Gonzalo Guedes, which was already booked
“I understand how difficult the official’s job is, but I need it to progress my path,” added the Wolves manager. “There were some really big calls there and we just couldn’t go our way.
“I don’t think Guedes is outside the box. The contact definitely continued into the box, no doubt about it. We’ll review that and have an honest conversation with them.” [PGMOL].
“It’s probably not clear or obvious, but [Bellegarde]But he stumbled twice. I think the referee on the field should give it like the first time.
Late in the game, VAR checked a trip by Dinos Mavropanos’ Jean-Richner Bellegarde, but the penalty option was again dismissed.
“I think it’s about Guedes… Emerson also got a yellow card, so that would have been a big turning point in the game.”
The corner kick for West Ham’s first goal was clearly fired by Hammers defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka, further infuriating Wolves.
“A lot of things were against us,” O’Neill said.
