Vitor Pereira appointed Wolves head coach

Wolves have appointed Vitor Pereira as their new head coach following last week’s sacking of Gary O’Neil.

Pereira has signed an 18-month contract at Molineux after compensation was agreed with Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab.

The 56-year-old, who has managed Porto and Olympiacos, took training on Thursday and will be in charge of Sunday’s crunch visit to Leicester.

Chairman Jeff Shi, who has been on the receiving end of criticism from fans, said: “We are delighted to welcome Vitor Pereira to Wolves as the new head coach of our men’s first team.

“Vitor is a highly respected and experienced coach who has achieved success across different leagues and will bring a new approach for the test ahead.

“This is a challenging moment for the club, and we want to thank Vitor for taking on this responsibility.

“We have full confidence in his ability to guide us back on track, alongside the players and staff, and the entire club will be united in supporting him to achieve success.”

Pereira inherits a team in dire trouble at the foot of the Premier League.

O’Neil was sacked after Saturday’s defeat to Ipswich – Wolves’ fourth in a row – left them second-bottom of the table with nine points from 16 games.

There were ugly scenes at full-time as Rayan Ait-Nouri was shown a second yellow card and Matheus Cunha was involved in a confrontation with Ipswich staff, which led to him receiving a Football Association charge on Tuesday.

Pereira becomes the third Portuguese manager to take charge of Wolves following Nuno Espirito Santo and Bruno Lage as agent Jorge Mendes continues to have influence at Molineux.

Sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “Vitor is a highly experienced and accomplished head coach who has demonstrated his ability to succeed at the highest level.

“His personality, desire and leadership qualities stood out to us during this process, and we’re excited to see how he applies his expertise here at Wolves.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with Vitor and his team on a daily basis, supporting them in every way possible – from getting the maximum out of our staff at Compton, to recruitment in the upcoming transfer window – as we work together to strengthen the squad and achieve our collective goals.”