Wolves manager Gary O’Neil said his team’s second-half performance against Sheffield United “won’t get [Wolves] anywhere near European football” despite the 1-0 victory.
The West Midlands club move to eighth place in the Premier League thanks to those three points against the 20th-placed side, with Wolves now sitting one spot and point behind a European football place.
Wolves also earned their 11th win of the season in the Premier League, already equalling their amount of wins from the 2022/23 season in Gary O’Neil’s first season as Wolves head coach.
Parklife Sport’s Owen Mason asked O’Neil about recording their 11th win in the league, with the 40-year-old saying he and the squad are “really pleased.”
“Our togetherness and mentality all season has been superb. When you’re not together and mentally strong during that second half, you’ll concede a goal. If anyone starts to give up a little bit because it’s not going how we want it to go, if anyone goes down that route, then the team suffers.
“But they didn’t. They stuck together. Some of the headers and defending around the box were excellent. So yeah, a real together team.”
However, despite the win, O’Neil quickly indicated that Wolves must continue to improve to achieve European football, along with a potential FA Cup quarter-final, as they prepare to host Brighton on Wednesday in the fifth round.
“It’s important that we don’t feel that 38 points and eighth in the table is enough at this stage and we start to relax. It’s important to be better than that if we want to push forward into the FA Cup quarter-finals and challenge for Europe.”
O’Neil was very reserved and quite disappointed with his team’s performance in his post-match press conference, as he thought his team “struggled” in the second half, with Sheffield United having the more promising opportunities.
“I’m pleased with the win, and to get up to eight in the Premier League is great. However, it’s probably the worst I’m going to feel with being eight in the league for an hour or so. I was really disappointed with the second half.
“We struggled to find the correct solutions, and that’s on me,” O’Neil continued. “When teams come after us, it’s easier. The solutions come to us because it’s fast-paced, and the fans connect with that.
“Whereas today, where you have to think and process things and hold the ball for a second, it creates an uneasy feeling. So I can’t wait to get out of here and get to work and figure out how to make that easier for the players and the fans.”
The former Bournemouth manager also spoke about the potential of European football at Molineux next season, but O’Neil was also very hesitant about that opportunity.
“That second-half performance gets us nowhere near Europe, so we need to continue to improve.”
“But the lads have done incredibly well. They get a massive amount of respect and credit from me for the amount of games they’ve won and the quality they’ve shown.
“Maybe I’m being a bit harsh on today’s game because you have no divine right to win a Premier League game, but we need to keep improving game by game to then start thinking about Europe.”
