Wolves boss O’Neil not shrinking from challenge amid tough run of fixtures

Wolverhampton Wanderers are yet to win a Premier League game this season but manager Gary O’Neil said on Friday that he is embracing the pressure ahead of a Midlands derby against Aston Villa before they later host Liverpool and Manchester City.
Wolves are 18th in the standings with just one point from four games to sit in the relegation zone with Southampton and bottom side Everton.
“There’s a lot of frustration in the building at the moment. The fixtures are a difficult run,” O’Neil told reporters ahead of Saturday’s trip to Villa.
“But we’ve shown we’ve got good enough players and a good enough way of doing things that we’re giving ourselves opportunities in all of the games to take results.”
O’Neil guided Wolves to a mid-table finish last season but they have won one of their last 14 games, a run stretching back to March last season.
However, the English coach said he is up to task of dragging them out of the relegation zone.
“I enjoy that part of the job, I don’t shirk away from any of these challenges or any questions around how tough the run (is),” he added.
“I am comfortable with all of that and I’m comfortable the group understand well enough now that in a Premier League season, there will be some tough moments. We don’t accept them, we’re not stood here saying it is acceptable to lose.”
Wolves came close to a first league win this season when they led Newcastle United 1-0 last weekend but conceded twice in five minutes to lose 2-1 and O’Neil said they must avoid any similar slip-ups.
“We’re frustrated with little bits and pieces. There’s lots that go on in a 97-minute game and it’s just a couple of small bits that are costing us,” he said.
“It’s just little setbacks. There’s just a need to find a way to do better. We can still be competitive. We need to find a way to make sure it goes our way.”