Wolves chairman delivers verdict on Vitor Pereira appointment
Chairman Jeff Shi says relegation-threatened Wolves have “full confidence” in Vitor Pereira’s ability to rescue their season following his appointment as head coach.
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The 56-year-old took training for the first time on Thursday after his move from Al-Shabab was rubber-stamped with Sunday’s crunch clash at Leicester City his first game in charge.
Pereira, who replaces the axed Gary O’Neil in the dugout, has inherited a Wolves team sat 19th in the Premier League table, five points from safety and will be tasked with getting results quickly with the club’s top flight status at serious risk.
Commenting on Pereira’s appointment, Shi acknowledged Wolves were in a “challenging moment” but expressed confidence the new man can transform the fortunes of a side which has claimed just nine points from 16 matches and lost the last four on the spin.
He said: “We are delighted to welcome Vitor Pereira to Wolves as the new head coach of our men’s first-team.
“Vitor is a highly respected and experienced coach who has achieved success across different leagues and will bring a new approach for the test ahead.
“This is a challenging moment for the club, and we want to thank Vitor for taking on this responsibility.
“We have full confidence in his ability to guide us back on track, alongside the players and staff, and the entire club will be united in supporting him to achieve success.”
Pereira, who has signed a one-and-a-half year deal, will speak to the press for the first time this afternoon, with details of his backroom team to be confirmed in due course.
Wolves is his 14th job of a professional coaching career which began in Portugal with Sanjoanense two decades ago but his first in one of Europe’s top-five leagues.
Pereira, who has long expressed his desire to work in the Premier League, came close to taking charge at Everton in 2022 only for a fan backlash to see Frank Lampard appointed instead. His biggest success came with Porto where he won back-to-back league titles, losing just one match over the course of both seasons. He also won championships with Olympiacos in Greece and Shanghai SIPG in China.
Wolves represents comfortably his toughest challenge with the club having won just two of their first 16 Premier League matches, conceding 40 goals in the process.
Strengthening the defence is expected to be a focus of the January transfer window as Wolves look to dig their way out of trouble for the second time in three seasons.
