Wolverhampton Wanderers have lost five out of six Premier League games – and Dean Saunders thinks he knows why.
If you told Wolves fans at the start of their season that their team would be 12th in the table and comfortably clear of the relegation zone after 14 Premier League games, many would surely have bitten your hand off.
Context is key, however, and recent results make Wolves’ current position far less impressive. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have now lost five of their last six games and a 2-1 defeat at Cardiff City on Friday night was more than deserved.
And, speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (3 November, 11.40am), former Wolves manager Dean Saunders has given his view on the situation – and has put their current struggles down to the difficulty of adapting to life in a new and better league.
“They’ve got a stable club, which they haven’t had for a long time. They’ve got rich ambitious owners, they’ve got Jorge Mendes, a really good team and they play like a team. They’ve just hit a bad run,” Saunders said.
“That defence, last season they were playing against Millwall strikers. This season you get Aguero one week, next week you’re up against Lacazette and Aubameyang and it wears them down eventually.
“Once you lose a bit of belief, that’s what you see – six games without a win. All of a sudden, a few players lose a bit of self belief and you can’t see where the next win is coming from.”
Saunders makes a good point. Wolves might boast the talents of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Rui Patricio and co but the vast majority of Nuno’s squad were playing Championship football last season so now is not the time to panic and get carried away.
The big picture is that Wolves are established in mid-table right now and have the character and quality to turn this disappointing run on its head.
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