Gary O'Neil speaks out after Jose Sa row in Wolves vs Bournemouth match
Wolves' recent run of good results came to an end as they were beaten 4-2 at home by Bournemouth
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil says his goalkeeper Jose Sa has his “full support” after he confronted angry fans at half-time as the home side’s recent revival was brought to an abrupt halt with a 4-2 home loss to Bournemouth.
Wolves came into the game having registered back-to-back victories over Fulham and Southampton to finally get lift off in their battle against Premier League relegation.
However, Justin Kluivert became the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in the league's history as the Cherries ran riot at Molineux in a game which saw four goals in the first 18 minutes. Two of those were Kluivert spot-kicks either side of Milos Kerkez’s goal and after Jorgen Strand Larsen’s second goal of the day for Wolves brought it back to 3-2 in the second half, the Cherries forward completed his rare treble to wrap up the points.
Sa gave away two of the spot-kicks as he was tackled receiving back passes and went to argue with irate fans, who were subsequently ejected. O’Neil, who faced chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from Wolves fans at full-time, did not see the incident but offered his backing to the Portuguese goalkeeper.
“I think situations like this that we’re in, as I say, has heightened emotions and responses,” O’Neil said. "Jose Sa has my full support, whatever he needs from me he will get. He has my full support.
“The passes he received today he shouldn’t have received. The first one he can clear much quicker. Of course he can. None of the players have anything but my full support. We tackle this difficult situation together.
“We have just gone four unbeaten in the Premier League against some tough opposition. So we’ve had a bad day today, but it’s important not to overreact to a game that got away from us very, very early, and especially when we have two more big games coming in the next 10 days.”
What do you make of O'Neil's comments? Have your say here
There's plenty of deals to keep you warm from head to toe on match day.
We've found heated clothing like gloves, gilets and hats, plus foot warmers and a simple thermal beanie that'll help you beat the winter weather.