Wolves have work to do as promising season fizzles out, says O'Neil

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil says there is a "lot of work to be done" at Molineux ahead of next season, after their downturn continued with a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday.  

Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze were on target as Wolves were beaten in their final home game of the campaign, with the in-form Eagles making it five wins in six matches.  

Wolves have won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions (two draws, seven defeats), a run which began with a dramatic FA Cup quarter-final collapse against Coventry City in March.

After beating Fulham 2-1 on March 9, O'Neil's team sat eighth in the Premier League table, just one point adrift of the top seven.

However, injuries to key attackers Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha stunted their momentum and a once-promising campaign will now fizzle out to a bottom-half finish.

O'Neil has previously said Wolves will not be able to spend big in the transfer market ahead of 2024-25, but he knows they need to strengthen. 

"There's lots that we have to improve," he said. "In the first two thirds of the season we looked like a team chasing Europe, and in the last third of the season you could see the issues that we've had and those have come to light. 

"As a football club, we need to have a real good look at the last few weeks.

"People are starting to come back, and we still haven't managed to regain that impetus and momentum that we had before. 

"There's a lot of work to be done between now and the start of next season, and a tough away game next week at Anfield."

Wolves go to Liverpool for their last game of the season next week, as the Reds' final opponents under departing boss Jurgen Klopp.