Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil made two strong arguments Monday after a 2-1 loss at West Ham left his side four points adrift and his job under intense scrutiny.
First, he argued that Wolves had four big calls go against them in the one-goal loss. West Ham were wrongly-awarded a corner that led to a goal, then O’Neil saw a foul in the build-up to their second.
[ MORE: West Ham 2-1 Wolves recap, video highlights ]
He also believes two uncalled penalties for his side should’ve very much sent his team to the spot.
Beyond that, O’Neil made a strong case for his job. Wolves are four points behind the safe spaces on the Premier League table, but he pointed to the transfer activity since he arrived — ironically because West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui quit — and the status of the just-safe club when he took the reins.
Here are his thoughts as aired on USA Network and NBC.com.
Gary O’Neil reaction — Wolves boss makes case for him, his side after loss at West Ham
On Wolves performance at West Ham: “We were okay. We were solid, probably had the better chances and an awful lot of decisions go against us in a big game, in a big moment. Today they didn’t. The lads gave everything and I’m proud of them because they are in a tough moment and they were ready to scrap, ready to fight.”
On the controversial calls: “The first goal, I don’t think it’s a corner — it comes back off Wan-Bissaka. Then there’s a blatant foul on Santi Bueno in the build-up to the second goal, Mavropanos climbs all over him. The penalty on Guedes was a blatant penalty, there’s a shove on his back that causes him to step on the ball [and fall]. And there’s the one on [Bellegarde] — small contact, but disappointed.”
Will he speak to the refs? “I will try and go in and have a chat with them but it’s not going to help us is it? We need to find a way to turn the game in our favor. A combination of us not quite doing enough and the decisions going with West Ham have meant that we leave with nothing.”
On his team’s effort under pressure: “We are together and I give them big credit for that. They know the situation and some of the difficulties we face. Me and the players are 100% connected. At the moment it just isn’t good enough.
“I’m not concerned. I’m really proud of the group and everything they’ve given me. I can only ask them to give their best. The club’s been through an incredible amount since I joined, the window when Julen left. The amount of Premier League players who we’ve lost between then and now and we’ve replenished them with young players from leagues that are not similar to the Premier League and some are not ready to help us yet. We’ve signed some really good players are going to be really good for this football club in the future. Pedro Lima, Rodrigo Gomes, Bastien [Meupiyou], some real good ones, but we’ve lost an awful lot from the players who have left from the window I arrived in. It makes it harder. When you lose 200 million pounds of talent and your starting point was 39 points, it’s gonna be really really tough. We understand it’s tough and we all stand up and accept the challenge.
