Gary O’Neil admitted the goals Wolves gifted Chelsea in their loss at Molineux on Sunday was ‘unacceptable’ but insists the squad will be working hard in the week ahead of fix their problems.
After seeing his side fight back twice to take a draw into the half-time break, including a first goal in Old Gold from Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, Wolves fell apart after the break, but the head coach is confident his side will be able to bounce back and learn from their second-half humbling against the Blues.
On a mistake-riddled second half
“They're unacceptable from us. I’m all for positives, and when the lads do well, they know they did well, but from all of us as a group, to concede those three goals the way we do, they’re just crazy ways to concede.
“At 1-1, we were the better side, and then we give them a goal to go 2-1 up from a goal kick, which is crazy, then we get ourselves back in it again at 2-2. Then we go out at half time and let them take a free-kick, play straight for us, so there is stuff out there that we know, as a group, is unacceptable and can't happen.
“The three goals after half time to take it from 2-2 to 5-2 are crazy. There is a lot there that we need to fix, but we’re really clear on what it is. Of course, it was a tough game against Chelsea, they’re a good side, with so many fantastic players on the pitch, on the bench, and we started to lose our way, and they punished us badly. They didn't miss too many chances, most of theirs ended up in the goal, and we were badly punished for losing our way today.
“The players know how I feel about that. We're all really clear. It's not just the players, it’s myself and the staff and everybody that has suffered that today – that's all of us.”
On gifting goals to Chelsea
“We gave them three goals from nothing. They’re just crazy ways to concede. It was already a crazy first half, and we still showed moments of quality and we were well in the game.
“Then, regardless of what you do with the ball and what you do when you're in shape, if you give goals like we gave, it was going to be a tough afternoon. We weren't open for any structural reason, we were just open through people not being in the right places. No matter what formation we play or what we do at that point, if people are not in the right positions, then it's going to be tough.
“We gave Chelsea a lot of help, so there’s an awful lot that I need to fix.”
On losing control after the break
“It was already a crazy first half, and we still showed moments of quality and we were well in the game, and then after half time, we came out and gave ourselves a real tough task and gave Chelsea another lift. From there, we weren't able to wrestle back any sort of control, and it was tough, emotionally, at that point. You end up a little bit out of shape, and it looks very open and easy for Chelsea.
“We’re really disappointed with the outcome, of course, but it was a tough game. We’ve played Arsenal and Chelsea, so it's a tough start for us. We've got a lot of work to do in the next week and then when we when we come up against teams that are more closely matched to us, quality wise, we're going to be able to cause them problems.”
On Strand Larsen’s goal and home debut
“I thought Jorgen did well today. I thought he kept going as well. It was tough for him, but he kept going, got his goal, and I thought he was excellent, even in a tough second half as well, he kept going, kept fighting and maybe should have scored again when he had a great chance in the middle of the goal.
“We created a lot of chances, we just weren't trustworthy enough to carry out our jobs and our roles and to stick close enough to what we needed to be. We missed a few moments in that and then Chelsea punished us.
“But I have a real clear understanding of what and how the game got to where it got to. There’s an awful lot that I will go through with the players and make sure that we start to put that right as soon as possible. We've got a big week ahead of us to make sure that we fix a few things.”
On strengthening the squad
“I love the group, but they will need some help. I’ve spoken about it enough already, but we lost our captain and one of our best players who sat on the bench for the opposition today. But we can be better than that with what we have in the group.
“First thing is my responsibility to make sure that we're better than that. But the Premier League is tough, so we’ve sold a couple of good ones there, and we've got a bit to do to try and help the squad be ready and by the time September comes, we have a long few months ahead of us before the transfer window opens again in January, and we need to make sure we're ready.
“We're working hard on it, and the club are working hard on it. From the moment I arrived, I knew the restrictions that we had in place, everyone was made aware of that and we're not a club that is free spending and able to do loads at this moment, but I'm hopeful that we can get some done with the funds that we've raised from the couple that have gone out.”
