Wolves Face Challenges: Ait-Nouri's Red Card and Coach's Anger

Rayan Ait-Nouri will miss the next match due to a sending off, angering coach O’Neil.

"Wolves" under-pressure manager Gary O'Neil stated that he would discipline Rayan Ait-Nouri, whose futile red card against "Ipswich" could carry "catastrophic consequences".

Ait-Nouri is now suspended for next week's crucial clash against "Leicester City," also struggling, as he was sent off at the closing stages of "Wolves'" 2-1 defeat to "Ipswich" on Saturday.

"Wolves" players have lost their composure in three of the past four games, with mounting pressure evident. O'Neil's frustration was evident after the loss at home.

O'Neil, regarded as the top candidate for the next Premier League manager to be sacked, said: "When players step out of line, they are heavily punished by me. Rayan already knows how I feel, because picking up a second yellow card and not being available for next week can have catastrophic consequences."

"However much stress we are under, we need to maintain control. I didn't see what caused the sending off."

"We address such issues very seriously, as you saw last week [with Lemina losing the captaincy]. It's frustrating. Players need to understand the importance of making good decisions under pressure. We have enough to address without dealing with this."

Half of "Wolves'" 40 Premier League goals conceded this season have resulted from set-pieces, and it was Jack Taylor's header from a corner that secured "Ipswich" all three points at "Molineux".

"I'll take responsibility for the set-piece goal if players are in the right positions," O'Neil said. "For some reason, two of them decided to change roles late in the game. This is the players' decision-making under stress. They will always try to find fixes to things, but it was a poor decision."

"You either find a way to be good enough, or you get replaced; that goes for me and the players. It's the nature of the business. It's a very competitive industry. Change is inevitable if you consistently fall below the standard."

"Ipswich" now sits three points ahead of "Wolves" in the Premier League table, and head coach Kieran McKenna mentioned that he anticipated capitalizing on the pressure on O'Neil: "You always consider the context of the opposition, their run, form, and how the crowd might react. It's always something for away games. If a team isn’t performing as well as it should, you know if you start well and get the first goal, the atmosphere can turn against the home side. We managed that really well."

But the "Wolves" head coach, nominated for November's Manager of the Month, is not worried about his future following reports of full support from the club's management to turn things around.

"I'm not concerned about my own position," he proclaimed. "I know the work I put in every day and understand the situation we are in. I know getting this group to perform as they did took considerable effort. People can point the finger at me, but some responsibility must lie with the players. I'm comfortable with myself as a coach, my standards, and what I ask of the group. I also embrace this challenging moment. That group downstairs needs me to help get them ready to go. I will continue fighting for them and with them until I'm told otherwise."

"It doesn't mean I don't think I'll be sacked. With every poor result, my chances of losing the job increases, but it doesn't concern me; the situation drives me to do better."