For the first time under Vitor Pereira, Wolverhampton Wanderers looked like their minds were on the summer.
So it feels appropriate for The Athletic to turn its mind there, too, even if Pereira himself refused to do so publicly.
“It’s not time to speak about the next season,” he said in his post-match press conference after a 2-0 home defeat to Brighton.
“It’s time to speak about this season. We need to, and we want to, compete for the next six points and this is my focus.”
Yet despite his insistence that the final games of the campaign at Crystal Palace and at home against Brentford are his sole focus, Pereira must now have half an eye on the summer, his first Wolves pre-season and what he hopes will be a successful first full season as a Premier League head coach.
Saturday’s loss to Europe-chasing Brighton might not have quite taught him or supporters anything they did not already know but it did reinforce some ideas for what lies ahead in the next few months. Here are a handful…
The wild horses have not been tamed completely
That was how Gary O’Neil, the former Wolves head coach, referred to his players on a few occasions as he attempted to convey the sense that his squad lacked the tactical discipline to follow a game plan.
For most of Pereira’s five months in charge, the wild horses have been reined in, following the coach’s plan closely and reaping the rewards.
But Saturday provided a reminder that this Wolves side are never far away from losing their cool and playing entirely off the cuff.
The most obvious culprit on Saturday was Rayan Ait-Nouri. The Algerian is a precocious talent with the capacity to change games, but on Saturday, he seemed determined to work through his entire repertoire of flicks and tricks with mixed results. It was a far cry from the focused, game-altering figure fans have seen for most of Pereira’s time in charge.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is failing to make game-changing contributions (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
“In the second half, it was a completely unpredictable game,” Pereira admitted. “It was an open game and this is the kind of game I don’t like.
“When it’s physical, with transitions and transitions, we lose the ball, they counter-attack, they lose the ball, we counter-attack, they come again, we come again. It’s like tennis! This is not for me.
“I think this was the first match that I watched my team playing like this, in an open game, running, running and running without organisation, without tactical intelligence.”
Eradicating the issue entirely will not be easy, but it will surely be the main focus of Pereira’s pre-season plans.
Goncalo Guedes is not the answer
Well, if he is, goodness knows what the question is. The Portugal international was given an unexpected second chance at Wolves this season and there were moments early in the campaign when he threatened to take it.
Since then, he has reverted to the sloppy, often uninterested-looking figure Wolves fans got used to seeing in his brief initial spell at Molineux before he was sent out on multiple loans.
On Saturday, he was handed a rare start just a couple of weeks after he was left out of the squad entirely, with Pereira questioning his focus. His latest opportunity did not go well.
He had a couple of early half-chances, both of which he failed to take and, operating as the most advanced player in Pereira’s system, offered nothing by way of a focal point.
Goncalo Guedes is likely to be sold this summer (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Pereira then effectively admitted after the game that Guedes had started because he was the coach’s only option other than moving Matheus Cunha to his less favoured centre-forward role.
Guedes is now out of chances and this has to be the summer he is moved on permanently.
Cunha and Sarabia must be replaced
Cunha had an off-day on Saturday, conceding a penalty for the opening Brighton goal and then too often trying and failing to single-handedly make amends.
And Pablo Sarabia, the other player in the Wolves squad with the technical ability to change a game in a single moment, again started on the bench, as has been his role throughout the season.
Both players are expected to depart in the summer and while neither is perfect, both will need replacing because the current options to fill their roles are limited.
Marshall Munetsi brings physical presence to the dual ‘No 10’ (attacking-midfield) roles Pereira favours, but he lacks the subtlety of Sarabia or Cunha, while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde brings pretty much the opposite, with his clever play on the ball not always complemented by physicality.
Both will have roles to play in multiple positions next season, but Wolves will need at least a couple of quality additions in those forward areas if they are to climb further up the table.
Andre needs some help
The Brazil international midfielder dragged himself from the field near the end on Saturday, with Pereira later allaying any fears about an injury.
But he did admit that Andre was “dead”, hence the decision to replace him. The fact he had not been withdrawn earlier, despite visibly struggling in the second half physically, told a tale of a man who is currently irreplaceable in Pereira’s squad (his impact on and off the ball is illustrated below in his player dashboard).
His level of defensive discipline and ability to receive the ball and switch play under extreme pressure is unmatched by any other player at Molineux.
If he were injured or suspended, Wolves would have a huge hole to fill. He needs a worthy understudy for next season.
(Top photo: Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)