Gary O'Neil addresses Wolves' Aston Villa loss and gives injury latest on Matheus Cunha and Pedro Neto

Gary O'Neil was left lamenting the absence of key men on Saturday as his Wolves side lost 2-0 at Villa Park. Wolves were second best throughout the majority of the contest against their local rivals and although Rayan Ait-Nouri should have scored early in the contest, they struggled to find a clear foothold in the game.

Villa took the lead through a Moussa Diaby's edge of the box effort and the home side managed to double their advantage as Ezri Konsa's cross spun into the bottom corner of the net. Wolves were far from being at their best but O'Neil believes it could have been a different story if the likes of Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan had been fit and available.

“The only thing I’m disappointed with is the result," O'Neil said after the game. "Performance-wise, there was loads and loads of positives – more shots, more possession, higher xG away to Aston Villa with the issues we have is an unbelievable effort from the players.

“Obviously we didn’t come here to lose, so I’m really disappointed that we did and I understand how tough that is for the supporters having to listen to Aston Villa supporters enjoying themselves and singing their songs. But that performance, I can sign up for, no problem. It will be enough to win us enough games and keep us moving in the right direction."

He added: “If you put Matheus Cunha, Pedro Neto, Channy and Bellegarde into some of those attacking situations, I’m sure we start to turn some of the shots and xG into actual goals. We came up a little bit short today, but I’m proud of what they gave because to come here and give Aston Villa that sort of game with where we are, is a good effort.”

O'Neil was able to provide an update on Cunha and Neto's recovery periods after the game and revealed the former could be making a return sooner rather than later.

"Cunha is doing great, miles ahead off schedule," he added. "He wanted to be involved today but we needed to be steady. Pedro is more serious."