Gary O’Neill considers key Wolves change after ‘disastrous and terrible performance’ loss against Brentford

Wolves’ defensive struggles have prompted their manager, Gary O’Neil, to consider a strategic shift. After conceding five goals last weekend, O’Neil acknowledged the potential benefits of reverting to a back five formation, a setup that has previously served the team well. The idea gains further traction given the loss of Yerson Mosquera to a season-ending injury and the looming challenge posed by Manchester City in their upcoming match.

Gary O’Neil said, “It’s never that we’re set on a four, but there is potential to play all three centre-backs. Back fives have obviously been discussed. It would mean every centre back at the football club playing, so we’d have no defenders on the bench, but we discuss it all the time. They’re terrible goals, with bad decisions, bad positioning and so much wrong with them. Players of course make mistakes, but I need to find a way to put them in positions where they make more good decisions and less mistakes. We get into the game because we’re open and we lose control of the shape of the team. Then when you think we’re going to get in at half time, we’re going to be able to get hold of them. We then concede a fourth right on the stroke of half time, and it makes the game really difficult from there. We were too open. Miles too open. We lost structure, lost shape when we had the ball, and we’re just too open, and we weren’t able to defend transition. There were some crazy, crazy moments for their goals and it was a real poor display. It was disastrous. A terrible performance. We didn’t play anything like us, not in shape, so open, so a lot to consider. Off the back of the other performances where I thought we were close, this shows me that we’re not where I thought we were and things need to change.”

This potential tactical adjustment comes ahead of a busy fixture list for Wolves, with games against top-tier opponents Manchester City and Brighton. Fans and the manager alike are hoping that a defensive reinforcement could provide the stability needed to face these challenges effectively.