Christmas miracles were few and far-between in a fairly dull round of Boxing Day fixtures, but Vitor Pereira has certainly made Christmas dreams come true for his new Wolves side. In just three matches in charge at Molineux, the Portuguese has delivered seven points; his side had just nine from their first sixteen games.
Stats aren't always everything but it's hard to ignore such a dramatic upturn in fortunes for the Black Country team. Personal issues, poor defending and a complete lack of cohesion on the pitch had proved too much for Gary O'Neil to turn around, yet Vitor Pereira has made light work of the task so far.
Victories over Leicester City and Manchester United lifted Wolves out of the bottom three just a week into Pereira's reign and then a point at Spurs showed their ability to bounce back from behind.
Before we look at how exactly Pereira has completed this remarkable turn around however, let's look back at how Wolves got themselves into such a mess in the first place.
The Mess
Wolves have never been a team known for making excellent starts to Premier League seasons, but they were particularly poor in the first few months of the 2024/2025 campaign.
In their first eight games of the season, Wolves earned just one point, although the 1 - 1 draw at Nottingham Forest seems far more credible now given how brilliant the Reds have been. The games Gary O'Neil did lose in this run were not easy either.
Defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea to start the season, followed by a draw with Nottingham Forest, now seem fairly standard, especially for a club in the bottom half, given that these three clubs are 2nd, 3rd and 4th at the half-way point of the season.
The following two games brought defeats to Newcastle and Aston Villa, neither poor results, before Wolves gave leaders Liverpool a great game in a narrow 2 - 1 home defeat.
After a poor 5 - 3 defeat to Brentford, Wolves again came close to a scalp at Molineux, this time losing by the same 2 - 1 scoreline to Manchester City.
Points then finally started to arrive for Gary O'Neil, with back-to-back 2 - 2 draws against Brighton and Crystal Palace giving Wolves a smidge of momentum.
Before the international break was a relegation six-pointer with Southampton and Wolves, for the first time this season, came up with a big performance when they needed to.
Pablo Sarabia netted after just two minutes to put Wolves in front as the hosts went on to win 2 - 0, with Matheus Cunha netting in the second half to seal the victory.
Momentum continued to flow for Gary O'Neil when his side secured a sensational 4 - 1 win at Craven Cottage against Fulham after the international break. Matheus Cunha netted a ridiculous brace; both goals were nominated for November's Premier League Goal of the Month award.
Wins either side of the November international break should have got Wolves' season going, especially as they'd actually managed to draw the two games before. But it didn't.
In fact, it went emphatically in the other direction.
The Old Gold managed to concede three penalties in a defeat to Bournemouth, matching the record for penalties conceded in a single Premier League game. Justin Kluivert netted all three to become the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in Premier League history.
After that 4 - 2 defeat to Bournemouth, Wolves went to Goodison Park to face an Everton side who were struggling for goals; the Toffees won 4 - 0.
This mid-week result was bad enough in itself, but the fact that Wolves defender Craig Dawson inadvertently netted two of the goals himself capped off a truly awful night in Merseyside for Gary O'Neil's side.
The following weekend brought about a trip to London to face West Ham, where Wolves managed to come from 1 - 0 down to equalise, only to concede the winner three minutes later.
Many of the travelling Wolves fans felt that would be the last they'd see of Gary O'Neil, largely down to the lack of identity Wolves seemed to show on the pitch. There didn't seem to be a real tactical plan, which is somewhat acceptable against big six opponents, but against the likes of West Ham and Everton, fans expected more.
But to the supporters' surprise, the Englishman was still in charge for the visit of Ipswich Town on the 14th December.
It looked to be a fairly routine relegation scrap, with the teams locked at 1 - 1 heading into stoppage time, but a heroic header from Ipswich midfielder Jack Taylor snatched a late win for the Tractor Boys.
This was perhaps Ipswich's biggest moment since their return to the Premier League, but it also proved to be a big moment for Wolves, especially for Gary O'Neil, who was sacked the same evening.
It wasn't just the results that were letting O'Neil down though, but also his lack of control over his own players.
In three of his final four games, all of which Wolves lost, one of his players was involved in a controversial incident after the full-time whistle.
Jose Sa's fury with a supporter in the defeat to Bournemouth may have been somewhat justified as whatever the supporter was saying to his own goalkeeper was severe enough to get him dragged away by stewards.
But the furious reactions of Mario Lemina at West Ham and Rayan Ait-Nouri at home to Ipswich had more tangible consequences.
Lemina was stripped of the captaincy by soon-to-be-departed manager O'Neil after his reckless outburst against the Hammers. Rayan Ait-Nouri one-upped his teammate however, getting himself sent off after the full-time whistle for scuffling with a member of Ipswich's backroom staff.
This all made for just about the most predictable sacking in recent Premier League seasons; results are one thing, but the sheer number of goals Wolves were conceding along with O'Neil's complete loss of control of the dressing room meant he could have no complaints when shown the exit door.
It was quite a mess then facing O'Neil's successor. Vitor Pereira was appointed needing to tackle the woeful defensive record, lack of tactical identity and, perhaps most importantly, the lack of discipline.
Identity & Defending
Despite their struggle to find any sort of form this season, bottom-club Southampton have had a clear tactical identity from day one. It's been a car crash for the Saints, one which cost Russel Martin his job, but an identity nonetheless.
Vitor Pereira arrived in the Black Country with a clear idea of how to set up the existing group of Wolves players; this was one of the key factors in the club choosing the Portuguese.
Crucially, Pereira had a defensive mindset right from the off; this meant that he had the potential to kill two birds with one stone as it were.
Not only was this appealing for a Wolves side with the worst defence in the Premier League at the time, but it was also a clear tactical plan, something supporters yearned for.
It was immediately clear from Wolves' trip to Leicester, Pereira's first game at the helm, that they were focusing on being more organised.
Leicester found it tough to get into a well-protected Wolves penalty area, both from open play and set pieces, which is a marked improvement for a Wolves side who have the joint-worst defence in the top flight. They thrashed Leicester 3 - 0 in what had been billed a close, tight relegation scrap.
In three matches played under the Portuguese, Wolves have conceded just two goals, scoring seven across the same three games. Clean sheets in the victory over Leicester and a 2 - 0 success against Manchester United were a welcome start for Pereira.
Spurs did score twice in their 2 - 2 draw with Wolves, and Pereira's side had to defend well to avoid conceding a winner after their late equaliser.
But no one was expecting perfection; this Wolves side, if they win their next league game, will have earned more points under Pereira in four games than they did in 16 under Gary O'Neil.
These positive results have come about because of huge improvements on the pitch, especially in the defensive third. But there was just as much (if not more) turmoil off the pitch at Wolves as there was on it before Pereira's arrival.
Dressing Room
Getting the dressing room back under control was Pereira's first task. Gary O'Neil was often a frustrated figure, which given some of the horrendous decisions which have gone against Wolves in the past two seasons, is perhaps fair enough.
But it's not too far-fetched to suggest that his players took some of that frustration with them onto the pitch.
This isn't always a terrible thing; Wolves earned a famous win against Manchester City last season that was almost in anger, as were both league victories over Tottenham.
It started to unravel in December though, with the outbursts of emotion during and after matches costing Wolves.
Within minutes of Pereira's first game in charge, his calmer approach to the game was immediately clear. Wolves weren't in such a rush to charge forwards every time they won the ball, nor were they committing silly fouls as soon as they gave the ball away.
By calming the style of play down and reducing the tempo just a little bit, Pereira has ironed out the creases in this Wolves squad, providing their star players, namely Matheus Cunha, the platform to go and show what they can do.
Mario Lemina is another player who has star potential, and immediately he looks more comfortable under his compatriot than he did in Gary O'Neil's tenure.
Pereira's style is working, helping Wolves get back on track both on and off the pitch.
What Next?
Although Wolves may have lifted themselves out of the relegation zone, they are far from safe yet. With half a season to go, they have just a two point cushion over the relegation zone.
Realistically Southampton are nailed on to occupy one of the three relegation spots, but both Leicester and Ipswich have shown the determination necessary to at least fight for their place in the Premier League.
Momentum is vital in the top flight and, at the moment, Wolves have it. But with high-flying Nottingham Forest up first in 2025, Pereira may well face a very different test of character and moral if the Reds continue their good form at Molineux.
The FA Cup may present an opportunity for Wolves to enjoy a welcome distraction from the relegation battle they're in the midst of in the Premier League, especially with another difficult run coming up. A trip to Bristol City will be seen as a winnable tie.
After their FA Cup tie, Wolves visit Newcastle and Chelsea before hosting Arsenal and Aston Villa; then comes a trip to Anfield.
Pereira has arguably already done enough to earn some patience through these horrible fixtures, but the critical time for him will likely be between February and March.
Assuming fixtures aren't moved to accommodate cup ties, Wolves will face Everton, Southampton, West Ham and then Ipswich in a four-game stretch between the beginning of March and April. This could be a season defining run.
Until then though, it's very much about building on what has been a fantastic start for Vitor Pereira. Most managers in the Premier League would be pleased with seven points from games against Leicester, Manchester United and Spurs.
The challenge now is to try to navigate a tough run at the start of 2025 in preparation for a few huge relegation showdown in March.
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