Gary O’Neil believes his Wolves players have got to take matters into their own hands so when luck goes against the team, such as controversial VAR decisions, they can still come out on top.
After falling to a third defeat on the bounce away at West Ham United on Monday night – a loss in which O’Neil felt Wolves should have received two penalties and seen the Hammers’ winning goal ruled out – the head coach understands his players need to do more so they are not relying on decisions going their way.
On defeat in east London
“I’m disappointed for the players, I thought they gave a decent account of themselves. Without being fantastic, I thought we had a decent impact on the game.
“We limited West Ham to not very much, and probably edged it and I’m proud of them, because they're in a tough moment, and they're still willing to fight and give absolutely everything for me and for the football club.
“But disappointed for them that they weren't able to get something that they probably deserved from the game.”
On the penalty decisions
“I think they're penalties. I think the Guedes one is a blatant penalty. I'm really surprised that we don't get that one. I don't think it was [outside the box], but maybe I can recheck that, but I thought it was a penalty.
“Emerson's on a yellow card at that moment as well, so obviously a penalty and a second yellow would have made a big difference. The one on Bellegarde is a penalty as well. I know there's minimal contact, but enough to kick his leg onto his other leg, which makes him fall over.
“There's a blatant foul on Santi Bueno in the build up to West Ham’s second goal, so I’m not criticizing the officials, because I know how tough their job is, but in a big game, with not much in it, we needed some of those to go our way. They make a big difference.”
On luck going against them
“Because of where we put ourselves in football matches, we're probably more reliant on it than we should be. We have to look at ourselves first. We've got West Ham, they're not causing us any problems, and we lose Soucek around the back from a corner. Whether it's a corner or not, we still have to defend it, and our marker loses Soucek and he gets a free header. That's on us, and the lads know that we have to do better with that.
“From West Ham being sort of under pressure from their own crowd, and us probably finding a way to go on, we have to climb a mountain, and then you need the penalty shouts and you need the fouls, because you found yourself in a tough spot.
“But I am really proud of the players, because, as you can see, they are still 100 per cent together. It's a very difficult situation. The players understand the situation at the football club, they understand the moment that we're in, and they're fighting for me, they're fighting for the supporters and they're fighting for the club to make it better as quickly as possible.”
On fighting to turn their season around
“We just have to try and find a way. Whether the supporters believe it or not, it hurts me as much as it hurts them at this moment. I can promise them that there's nobody doing more than me at this moment to try and turn it around, but at some point we're going to have to turn it around, and the thing that makes me really believe that we've got a chance is the lads.
“The lads are in there and they're devastated for me again, they're devastated for themselves, devastated for the fans. But as you saw, as soon as the game kicks off, they're just ready to fight and scrap.
“We may lack quality at times, some really frustrating bits where we get into a real good situation and we lack quality, but what we don't lack is honesty, togetherness and fight, and that's going to give us a chance.”
On uncertainty over his future
“I understand the noise and I'm happy to be judged on my team's performance always. But context is important. When I arrived, the club had just managed to get 39 points in a Premier League and since that moment, we've sold £200 million worth of players. If you start at 39 and you lose £200m worth of players, it's going to be tough.
“Every pundit that I saw last season had us to get relegated, and we were nowhere near relegation. We were a hair away from getting to a FA Cup semi-final, we went away to Stanford Bridge and scored four and went to Tottenham and won, beat Man City, beat Tottenham and Chelsea at home – some incredible performances, and I definitely haven't become a worse coach overnight. I’m definitely better now than I was then, but since then, we've lost Max, lost Pedro and where we are at this moment as a football club is that we're trying to find younger ones that are not as expensive as that, and trying to get them up to speed.
“They're all great kids, and the senior players are in there helping them, trying to help them get to level quickly, but that is the situation. As I say, there's no excuses, we're in the Premier League, we're in with the big boys and we need to find a way. The club expect me to find a way, and if I don't find a way, I'm sure at some point they'll get somebody else to see if they can.
“But I am doing everything I can with this group, and the fact the group is still together and still fighting, is credit to them, credit to the work that's been done since I've been here, and whenever it ends, I'll be extremely proud of what we've achieved at this football club in really difficult circumstances.”
