The win percentage of every Wolves next manager candidate

Wolves are searching for a new manager to revive their season after making the decision to sack Vitor Pereira

Halloween weekend saw Vitor Pereira become the fourth managerial casualty of the season after the earlier departures of Nuno Espirito Santo, Graham Potter and Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest and West Ham - two clubs it must be mentioned that are currently above the Old Gold in the league table.

Comparing the win rates of each Wolves managerial candidate | Getty Images/ Canva

placeholder image — Comparing the win rates of each Wolves managerial candidate | Getty Images/ Canva

It’s an outcome that was sad but unfortunately inevitable given the performances and results on the pitch. Wolves have so far been a shadow of the team that won six straight matches towards the end of last season.

"First the points, then the pints" was a phrase once coined by Pereira, which made its way quickly into the stands. But unfortunately last orders have now passed for the Portuguese coach, after a 10-game winless start to the campaign was capped off by an awful 3-0 loss to Fulham.

This calamitous start means Wolves are now looking at their fifth permanent manager in four years and their third in the space of 12 months.

The new boss will inherit an almighty task. At present this is a team devoid of confidence, form and goals - they sit eight points away from safety are bottom and have a tough run of fixtures coming up after failing to get anything from teams around them such as Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds United earlier in the campaign.

But who should Wolves turn to next? Here we take a look at the top contenders for the Molineux vacancy and their win records so far in their managerial career.

Gary O’Neil’s overall win record

As it stands, Gary O’Neil is the leading contender for the Wolves job. The Athletic explains the Old Gold are in ‘advanced talks’ with the 42-year-old over a dramatic return to Molineux less than a year after sacking him.

O’Neil left Wolves in December 2024 in 19th position and four points away from safety as a costly defeat to Ipswich Town. He won just two matches of his final 16 matches in the run up to his dismissal.

It marked a sad demise for a manager that had initially had some good moments at Wolves after arriving late in the summer of 2023 to replace Julen Lopetegui. Overall, he won 20 of his 63 matches in charge - giving him a win percentage of 31.75%. Prior to that at Bournemouth, who he led to survival against the odds - he had a win percentage of 29.73%.

How other Wolves candidates compare to Gary O’Neil

Former Wolves defender Rob Edwards, who is currently in charge of Middlesbrough in the Championship, is also considered a leading candidate for the manager’s job.

Edwards was relegated in his only season of top-flight management with Luton Town but was lauded for playing attractive football and making the Hatters competitive with a shoe-string budget. He has won promotion with Forest Green Rovers and the Hatters but did endure a difficult time at Watford during a brief 11-match stint. Overall, he has a win rate of 37.18% which is superior to O’Neil’s although most of his wins have come outside the top-flight.

Here is a look at the win rates of all the leading candidates for the Wolves job.