Matt Maher: Wolves filled with feel good festive spirit
Whatever happens tomorrow against Everton, this has already been an excellent Christmas for Wolves.
Two wins have lifted Gary O’Neil’s team comfortably clear of a bottom three finally starting to show signs of life.
For Wolves, the focus is now firmly on those teams above them. Indeed, you can’t help but consider just how the table would look if O’Neil’s team hadn’t so often got the rough end of refereeing and VAR decisions.
Their current 11th position in the table means the job O’Neil has done will be even more easily overlooked than normal outside the Midlands, yet it does not feel an exaggeration to say he should at least be alongside Unai Emery on the shortlist for Premier League manager of the season so far. At the very least, his team have exceeded expectations which were, admittedly, rather low when he replaced Julen Lopetegui just days before the start of the campaign. O’Neil has done it having overcome a rocky start which saw Wolves beaten 4-1 by Brighton in their first home fixture. Since losing to Liverpool in mid-September, they are unbeaten at Molineux and Wednesday’s win at Brentford, chaotic though it was, felt a big one for a unit which has struggled on its travels.
