Pressure will shift at Wolves if O'Neil decision fails to pay off

Boss Gary O'Neil remains in charge of Wolves but the focus will quickly shift from him if the decision does not pay off.

By sticking with the under-pressure manager, it leaves chairman Jeff Shi, sporting director Matt Hobbs and owners Fosun open to more fierce criticism from supporters.

The pair are already under the spotlight for this season's struggles given owners Fosun's recent decision to rein in the spending.

That came after years of heavy investment and they wrote off a £126.5m loan in the 2020-21 accounts.

The club lost £46 million in the 2021-22 financial year and then £67.2m for the year ending 31 May 2023 with Wolves just coming under the maximum £105m loss over a rolling three-season period within profit and sustainability rules.

O'Neil cited the £200m of sales [Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes, Max Kilman and Pedro Neto] after Monday's 2-1 defeat at West Ham and, earlier this season, said if clubs sell their best players and fail to replace them they will be weaker.

That has been the case with Wolves unable to bring in a much-needed defender in the summer and they will now target a centre-back during next month's transfer window.

While O'Neil will be the focal point of any fans' anger - especially if Wolves fail to beat Ipswich at Molineux on Saturday - Fosun must now expect the already mounting pressure on them to increase if Wolves' struggles continue.