Report: Gary O'Neil now makes significant behind the scenes change after 5-3 Wolves defeat

Gary O’Neil has made a change to his coaching staff after Wolves suffered a 5-3 defeat on Saturday.

A run of six defeats and a draw from seven Premier League outings this season has left Wolves bottom of the table, with alarm bells ringing in particular when it comes to defending.

Wolves have conceded 21 goals in these seven games – six more concessions than the next leakiest Premier League side.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
20	WolvesWolves	7	0	1	6	9	21	-12	1

TBR Football understand Wolves are backing O’Neil – for now – and have no plans to print out a P45 anytime soon.

However, as the man from Beckenham attempts to drag Wolves up the Premier League, a change has been made behind the scenes.

Gary O’Neil axes Jack Wilson from Wolves coaching staff

A story from the Express & Star now states that Gary O’Neil has sacked Jack Wilson from his coaching team.

It is said that the set-piece specialist had not integrated himself well amongst his fellow colleagues at Molineux, and was actually demoted from the bench in place of Ian Burchnall recently, as the Premier League set a limit on the amount of coaches who can be present on the sideline.

The Express & Star add that Wolves are not targeting a replacement in the immediate future.

It comes just months after O’Neil – who may also change formation at Wolves – was effusive in his praise for Wilson, after the Old Gold managed to lure him from Manchester City.

The 41-year-old said: “I don’t meet too many people who go into as much detail on game plans as I do, but Jack is one of the closest I’ve ever met to being as extreme in his detail. I’m delighted to be able to take him from Manchester City and he’ll be a huge asset to us.

“He’s got some really interesting ideas around set plays and how things should be done. It’s a fantastic one for the club to get done.”

Numbers support Gary O’Neil decision at Wolves

Of course, Wilson is not solely to blame for this terrible start to the season, but the numbers do not make for good reading.

Wolves have conceded four goals from corners in seven Premier League games so far this season – scoring just one themselves.

Furthermore, Wolves were also below their xG (expected goals) for set-piece situations heading into Saturday’s defeat against Brentford.

After just seven games, O’Neil surely would have given Wilson more time to overturn the situation, although it sounds like the set-piece specialist was also struggling to integrate with his fellow coaches, thus giving the Wolves boss a decision to make.