Wolves: Sevilla head coach Julen Lopetegui preferred candidate to replace Bruno Lage at Molinuex

05.10.2022, 13:24 skysports.com

Julen Lopetegui is Wolves' preferred candidate for the vacant head coach position at Molineux. The Midlands side sacked Bruno Lage after 15 months on Sunday, one day after they lost 2-0 to fellow early season strugglers West Ham. They have scored only three league goals so far in 2022/23 - despite registering 97 shots - and currently sit 18th in the Premier League table. However, Wolves are not in a hurry to appoint a successor to Lage, with coaches Steve Davis and James Collins set to take charge of Saturday's game at Chelsea. Lopetegui has been in charge at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan since June 2019, but is increasingly under pressure with Sevilla having won just once in eight league games. The La Liga club sit one point above the relegation zone at present and are bottom of their Champions League group, too. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The 56-year-old was linked with the job at Molineux back in 2016, but he became manager of the Spanish national team, with whom he spent the best part of the next two years before an ill-fated 14-match spell in charge at Real Madrid. Sky Sports' Adam Bate: "Thirty-one games into a stint that has ended after 46 of them, Bruno Lage had Wolves seventh in the Premier League table and five points off the Champions League places. Since then his team have disintegrated and he finds himself out of a job. Where it went wrong for Lage at woeful Wolves Premier League table Wolves fixtures Get Sky Sports "One win in 15 games reflects that dramatic decline. It is not just that they are the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season. It is the fact that they have scored fewer goals than Burnley since April - and Burnley were relegated in May. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "Lage has failed to achieve his goals with a team that does not score them. "Although there were boos and chants towards the end of the 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday evening, the majority of Wolves supporters retained some hope that the results would turn. Many believed that the talent within the team would win out. "Lage's name was chanted loudly and often in his final two home games and cannot point to a lack of support. Even Dean Saunders and Stale Solbakken had a better record in their final 15 games. Whatever league you are in, that is bound to sour the mood a little. "But events in London felt like an ending, a manager who had lost his way. Ruben Neves, Wolves' best player, out of position in defence. The diminutive Daniel Podence up front. Nelson Semedo on the wing. A team not set up to play to their own strengths. Super 6 is back, bigger and better than ever with a £250,000 jackpot. Play for free.