Liam Keen comment: Wolves sacking inevitable but change of direction needed to avoid repeat of struggles

A season of mistakes across the board have left the club deep in a relegation battle and the defeat to Ipswich - capping off a run of four consecutive losses - was the final straw as the head coach was relieved of his duties just days after receiving public backing from his bosses.

Wolves, from top to bottom, need an overhaul if they are to survive relegation this season and beyond, but no manager can survive three wins in 26 Premier League games, stretching back to the end of last season.

The easiest change to make mid-season is to sack a head coach and Wolves have taken the plunge, but they are a club that must make vast and varied improvements to stay up this season.

The first mistakes started in the summer when O'Neil and sporting director Matt Hobbs, expecting more senior players to arrive later in the window, began by signing younger talents for the future.

Eventually the money dried up and they were left without a replacement for Max Kilman or a senior enough replacement for Pedro Neto. Yerson Mosquera's injury then compounded their misery.

On top of that, the late change to make a move for Andre resulted in a muddled game plan on the pitch and the arrival of Sam Johnstone proved a remarkable waste of £10million once Jose Sa did not depart.

A disjointed ending to the transfer window, in which O'Neil was let down by the owners, resulted in the head coach desperately trying to find the solutions within the group and he, in turn, made mistakes of his own.

Persevering with a back four for as long as he did proved fruitless. The run of games with a midfield three left Wolves disconnected and the results suffered as a result.

O'Neil chopped and changed in search of the right formula but never truly found it. Their best afternoon of the season came in the 4-1 win at Fulham where Mario Lemina was excellent as a stand-in centre-back.

Yet O'Neil stuck with the former captain in defence for the next two games, which were the disastrous 4-2 and 4-0 defeats to Bournemouth and Everton respectively.

Those games, alongside the 6-2 defeat to Chelsea and the 5-3 loss at Brentford and finally the late 2-1 defeat at home to struggling Ipswich, will be the lasting memories of O'Neil's tenure, despite a fairly successful first season as he saved the club when Julen Lopetegui walked.

That Brentford game also spelled the end of set piece coach Jack Wilson, who lasted just three months in the role and was another example of Wolves' summer of mistakes.

Yet, after Wilson's sacking, O'Neil still could not find the answers to Wolves' set piece concerns and they have now conceded 15 goals from set pieces in 16 Premier League games.

With goalscoring not the issue, the next manager must make Wolves harder to score against and firm up the leakiest defence in the league.

But the concerns do not end there. This squad is lacking leaders and the over-emotional outbursts of late have been an embarrassing stain on this great club.

The final roll of the dice came when Lemina was replaced as captain by Nelson Semedo but it offered little respite for O'Neil.

Having players fighting with each other and the opposition in front of the world's cameras is a terrible look for any club and O'Neil's position became untenable once Ipswich nodded home a 93rd minute winner and tempers flared at full-time.

Wolves were reluctant to sack O'Neil and believe he will have a strong career in coaching but eventually they were forced into the decision. They sounded out potential replacements but Graham Potter and David Moyes did not want the job mid-season and with financial pressures.

They stuck with O'Neil as long as they could in the hope it would turn before finally making a change.

Vitor Pereira is in talks to take over but regardless of who the new manager is, Wolves must make changes from the very top.

The ownership model of being self sustaining can work if the money is reinvested in players good enough to compete. Clubs like Brentford and Brighton have proved that.

But consistently underspending in a league that is spending more every year will only end one way. If Wolves do not get relegated this season, it is only a matter of time before they do if they continue on this trajectory.

The club are expected to make signings in January and Fosun may throw some money at it to ensure their asset does not depreciate due to relegation, but if they continue along their current investment strategy it will eventually catch up to them.

O'Neil made mistakes and is certainly not blameless, but he is also not the first manager to be let down by the Wolves system.

A change of direction is needed to stabilise this football club or the revolving door will be swung around once more.