Sevilla head coach Julen Lopetegui is the preferred candidate to replace Bruno Lage as the Wolves head coach. The Midlands team fired Bruno Lage on Sunday after 15 months, the day after they suffered a 2-0 defeat to fellow early-season underdogs West Ham. Despite having 97 shots on goal so far in 2022/23, they have only scored three league goals and are currently ranked 18th in the Premier League. Wolves are not in a rush to name Lage’s replacement, either, as coaches Steve Davis and James Collins will preside over Saturday’s game at Chelsea.
Since June 2019, Lopetegui has served as the manager of Sevilla at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, although he is coming under increasing pressure as the team has only won once in eight league games. The La Liga team is last in its Champions League group and one point above the relegation zone. The 56-year-old was mentioned in connection with the Molineux position back in 2016, but instead, he accepted the position of manager of the Spanish national side, where he spent the majority of the following two years before an unsuccessful 14-match stint at Real Madrid.
After subpar showings in practices and games, Wolves attacker Daniel Podence acknowledges that “something needed to change” at Molineux, but he thinks that the players are equally to blame for Lage’s departure.
“It’s quite disappointing because it shows that we players didn’t do a good job either,” Podence said. “Despite playing well, we are not scoring or winning games. Not only is it about the boss, but also about us. We are hurt by it. Players weren’t performing as well in practice sessions or games, therefore we needed to come up with a fresh strategy or approach. The club realized the boss had to resign because something had to change. We must accept it and deal with it right away under a new [boss]. We need to expect a lot more from one another as players.”
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