“Something is wrong at Wolves, the Wolves we knew in the first half of last season would have gotten something out of that game”- Alan Shearer says Wolves are on course for a tough season as he says fans should be worried about poor form

Wolverhampton Wanderers suffered a third defeat in four Premier League games on Sunday afternoon against Newcastle United, a result that has prompted pundit Alan Shearer to raise doubts over Gary O’Neil’s side, predicting a ‘tough season’ for them.

Wolves sit third from bottom, having accumulated just one point from their opening four games, with growing belief surfacing that O’Neil’s team could be in the relegation mix come the end of the season.

Defying expectations in his debut campaign at Molineux, after taking over from a disillusioned Julen Lopetegui, O’Neil comfortably led Wolves to Premier League safety last season, finishing 14th despite being tipped by many to get relegated. However, having lost star players Max Kilman and Pedro Neto to West Ham and Chelsea respectively, fears of being involved in a bottom-end of the table dogfight have re-emerged this time around.

A routine 2-0 victory for Arsenal on the opening day of the season saw the West Midlanders suffer their first defeat, before a 6-2 thrashing at the feet of Chelsea left a sour taste in the mouth. A solitary point in a draw at the City Ground meant they got off the mark, but they returned to losing ways yesterday afternoon against Newcastle.

Speaking on the Rest is Football Podcast, former Tyneside striker and now pundit Shearer provided his verdict on Wolves’ fortunes thus far:

“Something is wrong at Wolves, the Wolves we knew in the first half of last season would have gotten something out of that game.

“I’m not sure, not sure [about Wolves this season]. I mean, I look at their next four or five fixtures; City, Liverpool, Brighton, Villa. Yeah, they’ve got some decent players, but I don’t know. I think it could be a tough season for Wolves, they should be worried.”

Indeed, things don’t get any easier for O’Neil and Wolves. They travel to Villa Park to take on an in-form Villa side next week, before difficult home games against Manchester City and Liverpool, and trips to Brentford and Brighton to come.