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Portuguese manager Vitor Pereira has signed a one-and-a-half year contract to become the new Wolves boss. Pereira's appointment comes after the Midlands club parted ways with Gary O'Neil following a 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Saturday. Despite the club insisting they were backing O'Neil throughout a run of losses in the top-flight, Wolves announced that he had been sacked on Sunday. The Premier League club is yet to make its official announcement, however, Pereira's now former club Al Shabab confirmed in a statement late on Wednesday night that he's left to assume the role at Molineux. talk SPORT understands that Wolves have paid Al Shabab £800, 000 in compensation to prise Pereira away. It was reported that the compensation fee of around £800, 000 was not a deterrent for the club, although they did explore other options, including David Moyes. Pereira looked after Porto and Olympiakos before making the move to the Saudi Pro League, where his side contain former Wolves player Daniel Podence. Al Shabab have won seven out of 13 games so far, sitting sixth in the table. He guided Porto to two Primeira Liga titles and led Olympiakos to winning the Greek Super League in 2015. Wolves could have Pereira on the touchline as early as Sunday, with a trip to Leicester a valuable opportunity for the new boss to pick up his first three points in gold. O'Neil guided Wolves to just two wins in 16 top-flight matches so far this season, losing 11 - including a heavy defeat to Everton. The side have struggled defensively and have conceded a league-high of 40 goals. Further to this, they have conceded two or more in 13 out of their 16 games so far. It seemed clear that O'Neil had lost the dressing room after their back-to-back losses to West Ham and Ipswich ended in scuffles with opposition players. Mario Lemina was stripped of his captaincy after dragging Jarrod Bowen to the floor and squaring up to Wolves assistant Shaun Derry. The following week, after a defeat to Ipswich, Rayan Ait Nouri clashed with Ipswich's Wes Burns, who had his hand on the Wolves star's neck. Craig Dawson stepped in and held Ait-Nouri back, lifting him off the pitch and escorting him down the tunnel. Matheus Cunha also clashed with an Ipswich staff member, as he was seen pulling his glasses of his face. O'Neil had recently spoken out on the difficulties for the club, citing the player sales throughout the last two seasons, including now Chelsea star Pedro Neto. After the loss to fellow strugglers West Ham, he said: "The people above me are supportive. But of course the supporters want their football club to be successful. "I understand them pointing the finger at me and it's my team and I have to take responsibility, but when I arrived at this football club they had picked up just 41 points in the Premier League. "Since that moment, we have managed to make £200m in player sales. We have sold an awful lot of players if you go back to Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Daniel Podence, Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez, Diego Costa, Pedro Neto and Max Kilman. " © 2024 talk SPORT Limited
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