Wolves’ Lemina Stripped of Captaincy Following O’Neil’s Decision

Following discussions with head coach Gary O’Neil, Mario Lemina, the 31-year-old midfielder, has been removed from his role as Wolves captain. Defender Nelson Semedo has assumed the captaincy ahead of the team’s upcoming match against Ipswich on Saturday. This development follows an incident where Lemina required restraint after Wolves’ loss to West Ham. This change in leadership comes after Lemina was involved in a confrontation with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen subsequent to the final whistle of their 2-1 loss at London Stadium on Monday. The situation adds to the challenges faced by O’Neil, who has been experiencing significant pressure at Molineux, with Wolves currently positioned second from the bottom in the Premier League standings. “We’ve decided to move the captaincy to Nelson and Nelson will captain the group from now on,” stated O’Neil, who had only appointed Lemina as captain during the summer. He continued, “Of course, the other night sparked the conversation, but it was an important conversation that had to be had. Mario and myself have a good understanding now of how we move forward and what it looks like.” O’Neil further explained, “We’ve spoken a lot this week – me, Mario and some of the other senior players. What happened after the game can’t happen.” He acknowledged, “We all understand emotions can rise, that we’re in a tough moment and everyone’s fighting and giving everything under big stress and pressure. But they’re scenes we won’t see again, definitely.” Lemina, a former Southampton player, will retain his position within the squad’s leadership collective, and O’Neil expressed his conviction that Wolves will benefit from having 31-year-old Semedo as their captain. O’Neil elaborated, “The discussions with Mario were good. We get on very well and he’s been a big part of what we’ve been able to do here, especially since I’ve been here. We have a large amount of respect for each other.” He continued, “These things – sometimes they can be tough to deal with and sometimes you can come out of them in a good spot, and I feel like we have [come out in a good spot].” O’Neil concluded, “He’ll still be around that group of senior players who lead the team, but at this moment we feel it’s best for Nelson to lead the group.” Wolves are set to host Ipswich at Molineux, with O’Neil having received support from chairman Jeff Shi earlier this week. The coach indicated that a sense of proportion is maintained at Molineux. O’Neil further remarked, “I’m pretty sure if I had been put into a situation where we were free spending and I was cherry-picking Premier League players and we had won three games I’d have lost my job a while ago.” O’Neil additionally dismissed any feelings of resentment or annoyance regarding reports linking other individuals to his position. Graham Potter, David Moyes, Sergio Conceicao, Niko Kovac, and Max Allegri have all been mentioned as possible successors following Wolves’ challenging start to the season. Chairman Jeff Shi publicly affirmed his support for O’Neil, who inked a new four-year deal in August, on Thursday, and the head coach expressed no apprehension. He stated: “I couldn’t care less who’s linked to my job, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s not been a consideration at all. I’m fine, I’m really enjoying my work every day and desperate to make sure we can turn this situation [around].” O’Neil added, “Being able to rise from moments like this will feel very gratifying at the end and we know it’s a season’s work well done when we get to where we’re going to get to.” He further explained, “My focus in this room with you guys [the media] always gets taken to who might take my job, but my focus when I’m not in this room is always around getting every little bit out of the group.” He concluded, “I feel we can do better, the players feel we can do better. We have a good opportunity from tomorrow’s game to the end of January to impact on and off the pitch what the rest of the season looks like.”