'Proud' Pereira signs new contract with Wolvespublished at 19:43 BST 18 September
19:43 BST 18 September
Image source, Getty Images
Head coach Vitor Pereira has signed a new three-year contract at Wolves, less than a year after joining.
The Portuguese arrived at Molineux in December, with the club 19th in the Premier League and successfully secured survival the following April.
Pereira made an instant impact, taking seven points from his first three games over the Christmas period.
The 2025-26 season has got off to a disappointing start with Wolves pointless and bottom of the table after four games.
However, chairman Jeff Shi is confident Pereira is the right man to take the club forward and said: "Now is a time for stability. Vitor needs time to work with the squad, to build a chemistry with new players, and we will do everything to support him and his staff.
He added: "Vitor has made a very positive impact during his time at Wolves. He's brought clarity, energy and a team spirit that gives us a foundation to be successful."
Wolves will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they host Leeds on Saturday (kick-off 15:00).
Pereira said: "I'm very proud to be Wolves head coach. It's an honour for me. This is the club that gave me the chance to come to the Premier League, the best league in the world. The people here embraced me as a member of the family.
"This is the moment that we need to be united. We are a one-club city, and this city loves football. It is a passion. This is the spirit that we need to create together, to face and to compete with the best teams in this league."
'Lucky he wants to stay' or 'maybe put talks on hold'? published at 11:50 BST 18 September
11:50 BST 18 September
Image source, Getty Images
On Wednesday, we asked for your views on whether it is too early for Wolves to offer Vitor Pereira a new contract or if it is perfect timing.
Here are some of your comments:
Jon: I really like Vitor Pereira but there is a danger here though of repeating the Gary O'Neil situation where a contract extension is given despite a very poor run of form. On balance, I still think it's the right move but results need to come quickly and he has his work cut out getting a squad with a lot of unproven new players to gel. Hopefully, that starts with a win on Saturday!
Mike: While you cannot blame everything on the manager, he must take a large proportion of responsibility as should the board and owners. Although we haven't won a league game yet, we have not been abysmal. I think he should be given a while longer. Maybe put a hold on the contract talks for a few months. Even so the road ahead looks long and difficult.
Mark: Never known a club give so many extensions to managers who are not getting the team to perform.
Garry: Definitely extend his contract. The only failings this club has experienced since Nuno Espirito Santo are two seventh finishes, which have all come from poor decisions by the owners. We are lucky he wants to stay!
David: Give him an extension if he wants it. He's clearly a good manager. Needs all the support we can give him. A drop in the ocean financially, considering what we've squandered on players
Jim: Before the season started, there was talk of extending Pereira's contract, I don't think anything has changed. The four losses are not down to him rather than assembling the squad too late. I've got the confidence he will turn it around and is the best man to do it. I also think that objectively they've been improving each game played.
'This will be an intense week for Pereira'published at 14:17 BST 17 September
14:17 BST 17 September
Mike Taylor BBC Radio WM reporter
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"I don't believe in words," said Vitor Pereira, looking for the right ones to explain how he would pull Wolves up from their bad start.
"In football, you increase the level if you work on the pitch with the players."
Perhaps the most important week of the season for Wolves will be one in which we don't see the players until the end of it.
After four games without a point, there is a great deal of work to be done. Whatever other problems his team has, the evidence of those games is that Pereira's players have the appetite to do it. They are, by common consent, doing their best.
On Saturday night, Pereira was eager to get on with that work.
"Next week will be the first week that we work together as a squad to prepare for a match. It's the first week that I will have chance to go on the pitch, to show them, to work, repetition after repetition, on the pitch and not in videos or with words. I believe football is not about words, it's about work."
Quite - although such problems are not unique to Wolves.
Just as clubs have been building up their analysis teams to examine every step they and their opponents take, the time available to act on the findings - at least in the traditional, boots-on-the-training-ground way - seems more limited than ever.
Some 15 members of Pereira's squad were away with national teams during the break, a club record number, and many travelled long distances.
He explained: "In the end, we prepared this game against Newcastle with eight players and academy players."
He did nevertheless try some new things. Ladislav Krejci started his first game in midfield, marking a change of shape, and later moved into the back three, looking adept in both roles.
Most eye-catching was the switch of the wing-backs – Hugo Bueno and Rodrigo Gomes having been two of the eight at home – and both were among the brighter Wolves performers. "Tactically and strategically, we worked the last two weeks with Hugo and Rodrigo, to play with opposite foot… and I think that was a good decision," said Pereira.
Pereira, a former teacher, will have confidence that his instruction will help his team to improve. By his own account, this will be an intense week.
If his efforts have not resulted in Wolves moving off zero after they play Leeds, the belief among the supporters that the team is good enough to at least stay in the Premier League will be under even greater strain.
Next games 'will define Pereira's future and Wolves' season'published at 12:31 BST 16 September
12:31 BST 16 September
Dazzling Dave Fan writer
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Wolves hit a grim milestone on Saturday. A 1-0 loss at Newcastle made it four defeats from four, a first in 127 years of league football for the club.
Lose to Leeds at Molineux on Saturday and they will join an unwanted list as only the sixth Premier League side to start a campaign with five straight losses.
Vitor Pereira's message is clear - he has not had time with his full squad. This week is his first real chance to drill tactics with everyone present.
On the pitch, it feels like last season. Individual errors. Sloppy passing. Poor choices in big moments. Too many soft goals.
Context matters, though.
Gary O'Neil had a more settled, experienced group than Pereira has now. Wolves pushed their transfer business late to stretch a tight budget, which led to seven first-team departures and six arrivals.
The result is a team learning on the job while the league shows no mercy.
There are fixes within reach. Pereira improved the defending when he first arrived; those gains can return with a proper training week and a settled XI. Tighten the shape out of possession. Cut cheap giveaways in build-up. Move the ball faster through midfield to find runners early. Be sharper on set pieces with clear roles and aggression. And find an attacking spark to turn pressure into shots on target.
For all the good work and credit Pereira earned when he came in, Wolves have not won a league game since April and have only one win if you include cup matches and friendlies.
Pressure is mounting, the fans are restless, and three of the next five fixtures are against promoted sides. These games will define Pereira's future and Wolves' season.
Leeds is a pivotal game, for belief as much as points, and it must be won.
Why starting with four defeats is not a great omen for Wolvespublished at 12:14 BST 15 September
12:14 BST 15 September
Chris Collinson BBC Sport statistician
Wolves have lost their first four games of a league season for the first time in their history.
Of the previous 17 teams to lose their first four games of a Premier League season, eight have survived and nine have been relegated - essentially a coin flip.
However, such a bad start has been far more costly in recent years, with just one of the past five teams to do so staying up. That was Everton last season.
Newcastle 1-0 Wolves - the fans' verdictpublished at 08:45 BST 15 September
08:45 BST 15 September
Media caption,
We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Newcastle and Wolves.
Here are some of your comments:
Newcastle fans
George: After the first five minutes we dominated the game. Nick kept us in it and the midfield worked like Trojans. Tonali was relentless in his pursuit of the ball. Bring on Barca.
Cameron: Not much changed from our recent performances against Aston Villa and Liverpool - we just have a striker on the pitch who can finish instead of being sitting at home.
Andrew: Disjointed at times - Livramento superb and midfield team strong as ever. New striker looked lost despite scoring. Missed Gordon's pace.
Blue: A decent game made pretty tricky by Wolves. Tonali had yet another maestro performance and unlucky with his effort on goal. Woltemade impressed with his game and a debut goal to boot. Welcome to the Toon, Bonny Lad!
Wolves fans
Mike: Very poor performance. No cohesion between defence and attack. Too much defensive passing and, once again, sloppy passing. What would Wolves give for an attacking midfielder who is able to run at defences? The referee seemed to have a strange interpretation of tackling but some of the passes were asking for trouble. Unless things change, relegation is more probable than possible. Team weaker than last season.
Paul: A better performance, but the table doesn't lie. Selling your best players early and buying late in the window is a poor strategy. Vitor Pereira needs time to bed the new players up to speed.
Derk: Played well but, once again, can't score and can't defend. It's going to be a long season.
Tommy: Not sure how long VP can last. This is not totally on him but Jeff Shi has already hung him out to dry. Shi will sink us with his double talk. No decent players want to come to us - players have joined other clubs for less money. We are a mess top to bottom - no leaders, no British players and no clear gameplan.
Analysis: The wait for a point goes onpublished at 18:19 BST 13 September
18:19 BST 13 September
Ciaran Kelly Football reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Wolves made history against Newcastle - but not for the right reasons.
They have now lost each of their opening four games of a league campaign for the first time in their history. For context, this is the club's 127th season in the Football League or Premier League.
The visitors, in truth, never looked like getting back into the game after going behind.
Yet they had made a bright start.
Indeed the game had just got under way when Wolves went long and Rodrigo Gomes' effort was pushed behind by goalkeeper Nick Pope. From the resulting corner, Hwang's half-volley forced Pope into a fine stop.
It gave the travelling support up in the gods real encouragement. In fact, at one point, the away end felt assured enough to ask Geordies where was their "famous atmosphere".
Wolves certainly caused Newcastle problems with their pace in behind before the hosts took the lead.
Gomes fired wide from close range while Newcastle needed Fabian Schar to make a last-ditch tackle to prevent Tolu Arokodare from tapping home at the back post on his debut.
However, crucially, Wolves did not grab that opener.
How the return of talisman Jorgen Stand Larsen will be welcomed after the striker missed this game against his one-time suitors with an Achilles injury.
Newcastle 1-0 Wolves: What Pereira saidpublished at 18:07 BST 13 September
18:07 BST 13 September
Media caption,
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira spoke to BBC Sport after his side's defeat at Newcastle: "Yes [frustrating].
"I'm very proud of my team. I think we competed since the first minute until the last minute in a difficult stadium.
"In the end I have a question. How is it possible for a team to press and be aggressive and win duels if we got yellow cards [for a lot of incidents]? It spoiled our game. It's not possible to be aggressive and compete at this level with yellow cards in the middle of the field."
On what they need to change: "Score goals when we have the chance. We had the chances. If we play without yellow cards and can be ourselves this is the spirit I want to see."
Did you know?
In what is their 127th season in English league football, Wolves have begun a campaign with four consecutive defeats for the very first time.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Everton v Aston Villa" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Wolves", for instance.
Sutton's predictions: Newcastle v Wolvespublished at 11:03 BST 13 September
11:03 BST 13 September
Both of these teams are still without a win so far, although Wolves are the only Premier League club without a point on the board.
Newcastle have drawn twice and only lost very late on against Liverpool, so their form is hardly cause for concern.
They can move on now the Alexander Isak transfer saga is over, although this could be our first look at some of their new attack.
Yoane Wissa is unavailable so we will have to wait and see how fit and ready Nick Woltemade is, but I still think Newcastle will have too much for a Wolves team who are leaking too many goals.
At least Wolves do carry a threat going forward - though they will be missing Jorgen Strand Larsen, who Newcastle tried to sign last month.
Newcastle v Wolves: Key stats and talking pointspublished at 19:23 BST 12 September
19:23 BST 12 September
Tom McCoy BBC Sport journalist
Newcastle's club record signing Nick Woltemade is set to make his debut against a Wolves side still awaiting their first point. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes before Saturday's match.
Newcastle spent approximately £240m this summer, the fourth highest total in the top flight. Their net spend was a more modest £90m, thanks largely to the acrimonious departure of Alexander Isak for a British record £125m, but there are still plenty of reasons for optimism on Tyneside.
Club record signing Nick Woltemade could make his bow at the weekend, as might fellow new arrival Yoane Wissa, while Barcelona will visit St James' Park on Thursday in an eagerly anticipated Champions League game.
Woltemade has started four times already for club and country this season but Magpies boss Eddie Howe may be tempted to ease the 22-year-old into action as he adjusts to a new league and the pressure from his £65m price tag.
It is only 14 months since the striker joined Stuttgart from Werder Bremen on a free but he has enjoyed a rapid rise since, netting 17 league and cup goals during a breakout season, winning the German Cup and finishing as top scorer at this summer's European Under-21 Championship.
The 6ft 6in player is an aerial threat but by no means fits the profile of a classic target man. Instead he is a technically strong footballer who looks to link play and run with the ball, finishing sixth among Bundesliga strikers for dribbles attempted last season.
Last term, he also ranked fourth in the top European leagues for most touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes, and the company he keeps in that metric is telling. The other leading players are either wingers or attacking midfielders - like Jamal Musiala and Bukayo Saka - or forwards, such as Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe, who look to get on the ball and make things happen rather than simply lurking as penalty-box predators.
Why Newcastle wanted Strand Larsen
Wolves are the Premier League's only pointless side, and will also be without key centre-forward Jorgen Strand Larsen, who sat out their defeat by Everton with an Achilles issue amid interest from Newcastle.
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira said on Friday that Strand Larsen's "[recent] injury was a bit more serious" and he is "not in a condition for the game".
The Molineux club rejected £50m and £55m bids from the Magpies and will now offer the Norwegian an improved contract to reflect his importance to the club, following 14 Premier League goals in his debut campaign.
His contribution was at times overshadowed by eye-catching displays from the now-departed Matheus Cunha, who netted 15 times, including five strikes from outside the penalty area. But when Cunha missed four games through suspension in March and April it was Strand Larsen who stepped up, scoring in crucial wins over Southampton,West Ham and Ipswich to effectively guarantee safety for Wolves.
Where Strand Larsen has excelled is by making the most of his chances. His shot conversion figure last term - the percentage of efforts resulting in a goal – was 25.9%, which was the second highest recorded by any player with at least 20 attempts. He also directed 69.4% of his shots on target, the leading percentage among forwards who start regularly, and overperformed his expected goals total by 3.74.
Pereira on Strand Larsen, 'time' and Newcastlepublished at 13:56 BST 12 September
13:56 BST 12 September
Alex Fletcher BBC Sport journalist
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Newcastle United at St James' Park (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Jorgen Strand Larsen is "not in a condition for the game" and will not feature.
Pereira confirmed: "His [recent] injury was a bit more serious and he's trying to come back. We want him back as soon as possible, but he's not training yet."
He added: "The club and the player are talking about renewing his contract and I think he deserves it."
On how quickly things will improve: "I don't know the time [that I will need], but I need time. Now we have everyone with us I need to build the team tactically and mentally. The club did the best they could in the market and the new players arrived a little bit late."
Pereira said that facing Newcastle would be a "big challenge in normal circumstances" and that with tired players from international duty "it is difficult to prepare for a match like this".
He added: "We need to adapt. We will do our best and we will compete for the three points."
You can also listen to 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Wolves" or "ask BBC Sounds to play the Wolves game".
After a bow-tied David Coleman asks Stan Cullis what he's learned from watching Brazil, and Kenneth Wolstenholme experiences Wolves' fitness regime ("What's the point of this weight-training?"), the final proof that Wolves are the country's most forward-thinking football club is offered by the chairman Jim Baker.
He proudly shows off plans for a revamped stadium, expanding capacity to 75,000. "We aim to attract families by making them more comfortable and giving them better protection from the weather."
Alas, it never happened, and decades later it seems that the most recent new vision for Molineux will also remain only an artist's impression.
In 2019, at a time of surging confidence, the pictures were offered as a long-term view of what Fosun thought the stadium could look like. Those ideas have been gradually scaled back ever since, with the club indicating that squad-building came before stand-building. The newest side of Molineux is the Stan Cullis Stand, opened in 2012. Two stands remain from the rebuild overseen by Sir Jack Hayward in the early 1990s, while the Steve Bull Stand is now over 45 years old, and showing its age.
"We have 32,000 seats at the moment, and I think it's good enough," he said.
"Maybe 35 or 40 [thousand] is the max for the city, but it's not very urgent. I think the urgent change is we should have more hospitality areas, to serve the clients from business, if they want to have a better environment to have a conference or eat there. We should do more on this."
Shi explained that the tired Steve Bull Stand is the likely focus of any such work.
"The next plan is to try to change a bit there, and build more areas for hospitality, for more business clients to come to enjoy there. Similar to what Fulham did with their new stand. But they are more high-end, for the super-rich clients to come. But we are more for maybe not super-rich, but some clients who want to have a better environment.
"The goal is not to rebuild the stand or the stadium," Shi concludes.
"It's more about to tweak, to change, to optimise it."
Some fans have expressed their annoyance at the tatty appearance of parts of Molineux. But with the pressure to prioritise spending on the team – and many thought they didn't do enough of that this summer either – no wholesale redevelopment seems likely in the foreseeable future.
Image source, Getty Images
