Gary O’Neil has painted Wolves as underdogs again this season.
The closure of the transfer window has clearly left the manager in a better mood and he is noticeably brighter now he knows what he has to work with for the next four months.
He underlined a siege mentality when speaking ahead of facing Newcastle, with games against Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brentford and Manchester City to follow.
“Not many people outside of here expect us to take many points but that is not our expectation,” he said at Compton on Friday.
It is easy to see why but at Molineux last season Wolves beat Chelsea, Tottenham and City while drew with Newcastle and Villa as well as running Liverpool and Manchester United close.
Their expected goals (XG) was higher than Chelsea’s in the chaotic 6-2 home defeat to the Blues last month and they will remain a threat, especially at home.
Yet, failure to take at least a point against the Magpies will result in Wolves’ worst start to a season since returning to the Premier League in 2018.
That would bring mild cause for concern but O’Neil has been here before, when Wolves were written off when he replaced the unhappy Julen Lopetegui just days before the start of last season.
It still feels too early to worry about Wolves’ prospects. The squad needs time to settle after what was a turbulent summer with the loss of Pedro Neto and Max Kilman, near transfer misses and deadline day arrivals of Sam Johnstone and Andre.
O’Neil got it right last season in difficult circumstances and he is in tune with what is needed again.
