Wolves suffered another blow in their fight to avoid relegation on Monday night as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at West Ham. In a game dubbed El Sackico because of the increasingly precarious positions of both Julen Lopetegui and Gary O’Neil, it was the latter whose job came under yet more scrutiny.
Wolves are 19th in the Premier League after a third successive defeat, having taken just nine points from 15 games so far this season. It leaves them four points from safety and the mood at the club is low as a result.
The players are clearly feeling the heat, too. After the loss at West Ham, midfielder Mario Lemina reacted particularly angrily, ending up embroiled in a post-match scrap with Jarrod Bowen, who scored the game’s winning goal.
Bowen explains clash with Lemina
Lemina and Bowen could be seen squaring up to each other after the full-time whistle, before grabbing each other’s shirts. Much pushing and shoving ensued and the two players even fell to the ground.
Eventually they were dragged away by team-mates and staff, though Wolves captain Lemina continued to cut an angry figure. Soon after, he confronted a West Ham staff member, before again being pulled away.
While the fighting spirit might have pleased some Wolves supporters, it was not a great look for Lemina, whose leadership qualities will likely come into question after yet another defeat and his furious outburst.
Bowen later commented on the incident. “I don’t think there’s any bad blood with what happened at the end,” he told West Ham’s official website
“I wanted to shake his hand, as I think that’s the respectful thing for two captains to do after a game. I probably boiled over a bit at the end, with a bit of everything coming out, but it’s put to bed now and I’m just happy with the final result.”
Wolves boss O’Neil also attempted to defuse the situation after the game. “Mario’s calm now, he’s obviously a passionate guy,” O’Neil said.
“Something that was said had upset him and then the instincts of all of the staff and players was to try and make sure that he didn’t get himself in trouble and that we had him available for Ipswich.
“Obviously he took a bit of calming down at that moment, but everything’s fine now. Staff, players, everyone understands that things like that can happen, especially in the heat of the moment.”
