Gary O’Neil will get the chance to turn Wolves around. That is despite fans turning on the head coach during Saturday’s embarrassing 5-3 defeat at Brentford , a result which left Wolves bottom of the table on goal difference after six losses in seven matches. The performance prompted O’Neil, not for the first time, to speak about the prospect of adapting his plans after the summer switch to a four-man defence and more front-footed approach.
But what exactly are the issues he needs to address? Three at the back? Thanks to O’Neil’s post-match press conference at Brentford, we already have a clear idea of what he is thinking when it comes to the basic formation for Wolves’ first match after the international break — a visit from Manchester City — but also potentially beyond. O’Neil spoke about the possibility of “revisiting” the shape that had worked well for his side for much of last season, which begged the question why he had not done so at the end of the transfer window, when he spoke of not getting the players he had hoped for to implement a new style and system. Advertisement While O’Neil has always been at pains to point out that formations are fluid, and Wolves did operate something if a hybrid 3-4-3-cum-4-2-3-1 setup for much of the last campaign, they essentially had their biggest successes when starting with three centre-backs in Maximilian Kilman , Craig Dawson and Toti.
The obvious issue with returning to that plan is that, with Kilman depart.
