Since his appointment as Wolverhampton Wanderers’ manager on December 19, 2024, Vítor Pereira has made a significant impact. Taking over a team in 19th place with just nine points from 16 matches, Pereira’s tenure so far has been marked by a focus on hard work and daily improvement.
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00:00Vitor Pereira's reign obviously came in and hit the ground running with a fantastic away
00:06win late December against Leicester, then a home win on Boxing Day against Manchester
00:12United. I mean, a perfect start really to his Wolves tenure. But in terms of the sort
00:17of atmosphere that's gone on and the change that he's implemented, I mean, it seems night
00:23and day really from the end of Gary O'Neill's spell, which was sort of a shame that it had
00:27to end that way. What's your sort of thoughts on Pereira so far and the impact he's had
00:32at Wolves?
00:33I think he's had a really strong impact. Winning your first two games is always going to be
00:38very positive against big opposition in Manchester United as well at Molineux. It kind of reminds
00:43you of Gary O'Neill at the start, doing a double over Tottenham and beating Chelsea
00:47and Manchester City and having all of those enjoyable days. Hopefully it doesn't go down
00:53the same route as it did under O'Neill, of course, after that defeat to Coventry in the
00:56FA Cup last season. Things did go down the pan, but there were so many injuries in that
01:00situation. I think the squad depth is improving now. There haven't been so many injury problems
01:05this season. Touch wood on that. And Pereira, he just seems to be a bit more versatile than
01:10O'Neill and knows what he's doing with his game management. Sometimes it's a bit too
01:13gung-ho from O'Neill. Pereira, I think, can settle things down a bit defensively. Looks
01:18a bit more solid from the initial signs. Obviously, Agba do that big signing in this winter transfer
01:23window should help in that department. But it's just been quite a few players that have
01:27improved under Pereira. Seems to have new confidence. Players that were completely out
01:32of it under Gary O'Neill. I think Rodrigo Gomez comes to mind. Obviously, a very exciting
01:36signing in the summer. Wolves fans wanted to see a lot of him from the offset. Didn't
01:41really get the chance. Sat on the bench quite a lot. Had a few fitness concerns as well,
01:47but now seems to be raring to go. He can play as a wing back. He can play as part of the
01:51front three as well. Very energetic. Decent on the ball. A good delivery. I think we'll
01:55see more of him. Gonzalo Guedes as well. He's someone who seems to be rebirthed under Pereira.
02:01We thought he'd be leaving the club in the summer and then again this month. But he seems
02:05to be playing very well and competing with Juanqui Chan in the four positions. So, yes,
02:08very positive and players improving under the new manager.
02:13Just to look at the tough run that they have. They obviously want to go far in the FA Cup,
02:19but it's maybe not sort of viewed as a priority for them this season. I mean, it looks sort
02:23of end of February time where they are looking at more winnable games in a row. They need
02:28to dig in now. How important is this sort of run until the end of February?
02:34Yeah, I mean, having played Newcastle and Chelsea, having Arsenal and having Aston Villa,
02:40the game away at Blackburn, it's not too easy. John Eustace in good form as their new manager
02:44this season. Liverpool in there. Bournemouth, who have been reborn this season. As you mentioned,
02:49the end of February is when things start to pick up. Let's see how he compares to Gary
02:53O'Neill because, of course, he really struggled in this same run of fixtures. And then I think
02:57we'll really know if Pereira is the real deal.