Vitor Pereira sacked by Wolves after winless start to Premier League season | OneFootball

Portuguese relieved of his duties at Molineux despite only signing a new three-year contract in September

Winless Wolves have sacked under-fire manager Vitor Pereira following Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Fulham.

All eight members of Pereira’s backroom staff have also exited, with Under-21 coach James Collins and U18 coach Richard Walker taking interim charge while Wolves search for his replacement.

Wolves said in a statement announcing Pereira’s departure that “results and performances had fallen below acceptable standards”, leading to a “change in leadership being deemed necessary”.

“Vitor and his team worked tirelessly for Wolves and helped guide us through a challenging period last season, for which we are grateful,” said executive chairman Jeff Shi.

“Unfortunately, the start to this season has been a disappointment and, despite our strong desire to give the head coach time and matches to find an improvement, we have reached a point where we must make a change.

“We thank Vitor and his staff for their efforts and wish them the very best for the future.”

Pereira’s position had looked close to untenable after the toxic scenes at Molineux that followed last weekend’s last-gasp 3-2 loss to promoted Burnley in which they initially fought back from 2-0 down, with the angry manager having to be escorted away following a spat with home fans, who chanted “you’re getting sacked in the morning”.

It marks a staggeringly fast downturn at Wolves for Pereira, who initially struggled after leaving Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab to succeed Gary O’Neil on an 18-month contract in December 2024 but later oversaw an impressive six-match winning run to steer them away from relegation danger and to a 16th-place finish last season, eventually clearing the bottom three by 16 points.

That achievement earned him a new three-year contract lasting until 2028, which was only signed in September.

However, things have since unravelled quickly for the former Porto and Fenerbahce head coach, with Wolves taking just three points from the last 43 available and enduring another testing summer transfer window in which they lost more key talent in the likes of Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Brendan Rodgers is among the early bookmakers’ favourites to replace Pereira after his recent exit from Celtic, with the likes of former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag also linked with the job along with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Frank Lampard, Sergio Conceicao and Kevin Muscat.