Wolves manager Gary O'Neill says he understands the anger his fan base has towards him, but defended his record at Molineux after pressure mounted following the defeat to West Ham.
Wolves suffered their third consecutive loss at the London Stadium to remain in the relegation zone with nine points and another four points from safety.
Sky Sports News It was reported last week that Wolves have carried out due diligence on a number of candidates in recent weeks, with pressure mounting on O'Neill – who is still believed to have the support of the hierarchy despite poor performances.
“The people above me are supportive,” said O’Neill, who joined the club in August 2023. Sky Sports After the match. “But of course the fans want their club to be successful.
He added: “I understand that they are pointing the finger at me, and it is my team and I must take responsibility, but when I arrived at this football club, they had only earned (41) points in the English Premier League (the previous season).”
“Since that moment, we have managed to achieve £200 million in player sales. We have sold a huge number of players if you go back to Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Daniel Podence, Adama Traoré, Raul Jiménez, Diego Costa, Pedro Neto and Max Kilman.
“And then, we're not shopping in that market now, we're looking for others who are in the future who can help us in the present.
“As we find in the Premier League, it is an unforgiving league. The group is doing everything they can to get up to speed. But I am really proud of them.
“I know we only have nine points and we are in a difficult position in the league but they are doing everything they can. So I hope the fans will still be proud of the players even though they hate the position we are in. They won.” I don't hate it more than I do, I'm with them, whether they know it or not.
“We won't give up and we'll keep pushing. Big game coming up against Ipswich. Hopefully some little bits, our bits, the referees' bits will go our way.”
Carragher: O'Neill doesn't hold them back, I can't see a better manager
Mario Lemina was dragged away at full-time after an altercation
Sky Sports Jamie Carragher believes O'Neill is not the root of the problem at Wolves, and that the new manager will not revamp things at Molineux for the rest of the season.
Carragher also sympathized with O'Neill's argument that he is dealing with a less experienced squad having sold several key players to bigger clubs.
“It's a group of players that we felt would be in and around these positions at the moment,” Carragher said. “What worries Wolves is not their presence in the bottom three, but the fact that there appears to be a three or four point gap between them and Leicester.
“If you look at the three promoted teams – and the three promoted teams struggled last season – and you think it might be difficult for Southampton this season, maybe even Ipswich, but Leicester have made the change, with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking four points from the last two games, that will be in the minds of Wolves' hierarchy, there's no doubt about it.
“I don't see a change in manager that would rejuvenate the whole team or Gary O'Neill holding this team back and they should achieve more – I don't really see that.
“There are definitely areas that O'Neill believes they have to be better in. I think what he did last season and what he's doing now, if you look at that as a body of work over the last 18 months, I think he's done a good job for Wolves.
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Things got heated after the final whistle between Jarrod Bowen and Mario Lemina
“I think most people were afraid of where they are now last season. I don't think the coach who is holding the group back is the one who should be doing more than they are doing.”
O'Neill: We should have had two penalties – and it's crazy that West Ham's goal won it
O'Neill has taken another hit at VAR – claiming West Ham's goal by Jarrod Bowen should not have stood due to a “flagrant” foul on Santi Bueno during the build-up.
As Wolves defended a free-kick, Dinos Mavropanos challenged Bueno in the air and the referee made no mistake. Eleven seconds later, Mohamed Quddus passed the ball to Bowen to calmly score the winning goal.
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Jarrod Bowen scores with a stunning shot to restore the lead for West Ham
The VAR claimed he could not go back and penalize Bueno because it was a new phase of play – even though there were only 11 seconds between the alleged foul and Bowen's shot crossing the goal line.
“It's crazy,” O'Neill said. “Santi Bueno would head the ball wide, so it didn't matter (VAR said it was a new phase of play) because we had cleared the ball.
“It's a blatant foul on Santi Bueno and it can't be a different stage. The ball is still in the same area.
“They will find reasons, of course they will, and I realize there will be gray areas and the wording of the rule can be interpreted in many different ways. But this is a blatant foul on Bueno in the seconds before the goal. This is a blatant foul on Bueno. A blatant foul.”
Later in his press conference, O'Neill claimed that Wolves should have been awarded two penalties in the second half. The VAR examined fouls by Emerson on Goncalo Guedes and Mavropanos on Jan Reckner Bellegarde in the second half – but stood by the on-field ruling of 'no penalty' on both occasions.
The VAR chose not to penalize Emerson's alleged foul, which had already been booked, on Goncalo Guedes.
The Wolves coach added: “I understand how difficult the task is for the officials, but you need some of that to get on your way.” “Some really big calls we couldn't go our way.
“I don't think Guedes is outside the box. The contact is definitely going on inside the box. Absolutely. I will review it and have an honest conversation with them (PGMOL).
“Maybe it's not clear and obvious, (Bellegarde), but he tripped twice, I think the on-field umpire should give it to him, like the first umpire.
Later in the match, VAR checked Dinos Mavropanos' trip on Jan Rekner Bellegarde – but he rejected the penalty option again.
“I think the Guedes player… Emerson also got a yellow card, so that could have been a big turning point in the game.”
Wolves were even more aggrieved that the corner kick for West Ham's first goal came from Hammers defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka – so it shouldn't have counted either.
“A lot of things went against us,” O’Neill said.
