Wolves fire Vitor Pereira less than two months after signing new contract

Wolverhampton Wanderers have sacked manager Vitor Pereira after a disastrous start to the Premier League season.

The Portuguese manager’s departure was confirmed today, less than two months after signing a new three-year contract that was meant to secure his long-term future at Molineux.

Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Fulham proved to be the final straw for the club hierarchy, with executive chairman Jeff Shi admitting that results and performances had ‘fallen below acceptable standards’.

Wolves have collected just two points all season and were also knocked out of the League Cup at the last-16 stage following a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea.

Their only positive results came from successive draws with Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion, both of which ended with late equalisers conceded.

Pereira took charge in December and guided Wolves to safety with a 16th-place finish after winning 10 of their final 22 league matches.

His work earned him the new deal in September, but optimism quickly faded. Since a six-match winning run in April, Wolves have failed to win any of their 14 league games, losing 11 in that stretch.

The team’s struggles this season have included defeats to all three newly promoted sides – Leeds United, Sunderland and Burnley.

After the 3-2 home defeat to Burnley, he argued with supporters who had chanted ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’, and the same chants echoed again at Craven Cottage yesterday.

All eight of Pereira’s backroom staff have also left the club. Youth team coaches James Collins and Richard Walker will oversee training while Wolves finalise the appointment of a new manager.

Pereira’s tenure had been undermined by a turbulent summer in which key players Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri left for Manchester United and Manchester City

Several new recruits were brought in, but the squad has looked short of quality and cohesion.

The search for a replacement is already underway, with Wolves now preparing for a difficult trip to Chelsea next weekend as they look to revive their season.

Pereira leaves Molineux having managed 32 league games, winning 10, drawing six and losing 16. His departure makes him the fifth permanent Wolves manager in four years.