Opinion: Three areas Wolves must improve after mixed start to season

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Many might have wondered how Wolverhampton Wanderers were going to deal with a tight turnaround ahead of the 2020/21 season.

Their 2019/20 version was longer than anyone else’s in the Premier League and manager Nuno Espirito Santo prefers to work with a small squad.

When Wolves raced into a 2-0 lead within ten minutes against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, it looked like being business at usual.

Then came losses against Manchester City and West Ham, conceding seven goals in the process.

The 1-0 win over Fulham was welcome, but there questions for Santo to answer after a mixed start. There’s no reason to doubt he will rise to the challenge, just as he has every other time at Molineux.

Is Santo trying to make Wolves more dominant?

Lots of Wolves’ success in the top flight has been based around a solid shape and the counter attack.

That has been great, but if they want to get to the next level they may need to be more proactive in their approach.

That will take time and comes with its own risks, but Santo is a good enough coach and motivator to make it happen.

It’s just about ensuring results remain good while the transformation to a more attacking style is happening.

How will the new-boys settle?

Wolves needed new wing backs and got Nelson Semedo and Marcal, as well as smashing their transfer record on Fabio Silva.

Their recruitment has been outstanding in recent years, but there is onus on Santo to sufficiently replace Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota.

That pair were linchpins of the rise from the Championship and that puts pressure on the new faces to settle quickly.

Wolves have evolved their squad successfully in the top flight and must do so again to ensure progress this season.

Keep the momentum going

It already looks like being a crazy season, and Wolves’ 4-0 loss at West Ham has already given them a taste of that.

It could be a campaign where a surprise package wins the league or gets in the top four, and Wolves are in prime position to spring forward and do that.

They’ve got to keep the momentum from the last two seasons going, keep their ideas fresh to keep teams guessing and try to ease the goalscoring burden on Raul Jimenez.

There’s no reason they can’t do that, but that’s the challenge facing Santo. There will be winners and losers if this season carries on in the same wild vein, and the Old Gold need to make sure they’re the former.