The Athletic’s Wolverhampton Wanderers correspondent Tim Spiers has recently aired some concern for Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Wolves’ gaffer has been situated at Molineux since the summer of 2017 and his existing deal with the club is set to run until 2023 (per Transfermarkt).
During his time in the Midlands, Nuno Santo has guided the Old Gold to promotion from the Championship as champions and back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the Premier League.
However, this season, Wolves are faring a noticeable amount worse in the top flight as they currently sit 14th, having won just six of their opening 18 league matches.
In the latest episode of The Athletic’s The Molineux View podcast, Spiers discussed the Portuguese manager and aired some concern for him.
He said: “Do you know what? With Nuno, I’ve thought this for a while, since the summer really, he looks like he’s got a lot on his shoulders and he looks like it’s affecting him, to me.
“He’s not the Nuno that we know and he looks like he’s got a cloud hanging over his head almost constantly.
“One thing he’ll constantly talk about at the moment is the [pandemic] situation and how much it’s affected the club, football and him as well.
“He referenced his family and said how difficult it is at the moment. It can’t be forgotten that, for Nuno, his family [and] his wife are back in Portugal.
“Normally, it’s a quick two-hour flight, he would often pop back between matches if there was time to do so just for a day or so, he hasn’t been able to that.
“I don’t think he’s very happy at the moment and that’s got to be affecting himself and the team. The tide is turning against him, he does need a couple of results really.”
TIF Thoughts on what Tim Spiers said about Nuno Espirito Santo…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, he believes that the stresses of the pandemic could be weighing heavily on the Old Gold’s Portuguese gaffer.
Spiers also aired his belief that “the tide is turning against” Nuno Santo at the moment with results not going Wolves’ way.
Are you still backing Nuno Espirito Santo?
Yes, he is the man for us
No, not anymore sadly
With the Molineux outfit currently seven positions lower in the Premier League than they have finished in the previous two seasons, perhaps it is no surprise that the tide is turning.
However, the situation with the pandemic and the injuries in Wolves’ squad are worth bearing in mind before overly criticising the Portuguese gaffer.