Liam Keen analysis: Previous shortcomings crept back in as Wolves were well beaten

The head coach took over a side that could not defend, was lashing out and seemed destined for relegation.

Pereira solidified the defence, kept the goals coming and made Wolves a more tactically astute outfit that is capable of regulating emotions more efficiently.

Certain individuals have let themselves down on that front on occasion - normally Matheus Cunha - but overall Pereira has been able to limit the outbursts that previously haunted Wolves.

Against Brighton, some of those shortcomings crept back in and that resulted in a lacklustre performance.

There were no outbursts as such, but instead it was an overly emotional, hurried and chaotic performance that was full of mistakes.

It was the closest game under Pereira that resembled a performance akin to Gary O'Neil's Wolves before he was sacked.

Wolves were full of heart and effort, but little tactical nous. They were disorganised and rushed everything, resulting in a disappointing afternoon. They played with their hearts and not their heads.

But as the game got under way Wolves were actually the better side in the opening exchanges.

They created two good chances but Goncalo Guedes wasted both, before Brighton got into their stride.

Wolves were making countless errors in possession and the normally reliable Emmanuel Agbadou, who has been a fantastic winter signing, struggled with the ball at his feet and relinquished possession too often.

Goalkeeper Jose Sa also heaped pressure on his defence with some terrible distribution. Wolves could not string two passes together and it was a matter of time before the Seagulls took advantage.

The disallowed Brighton goal showcased some more poor defending and after an embarrassingly long VAR check it did not take long for Wolves to gift Brighton the lead.

Cunha showed deep for the ball, as he often does, but he was followed by Mats Wieffer who was a thorn in Cunha's side all afternoon with his effective man marking.

Agbadou's pass was poor considering he could see the danger and should have dealt with it better, but Cunha is mostly at fault for wanting the ball in that dangerous area and not being ready for the press.

His pocket was picked and he clumsily brought Wieffer down for an obvious penalty that Danny Welbeck dispatched.

Wolves did not recover in the second half and eventually conceded a late second, condemning them to defeat.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was positive and forward-thinking, but far too hesitant when he got into the box. He almost set Jorgen Strand Larsen up on one occasion but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen did well to get a hand on the cross.

Rodrigo Gomes attempted to get into dangerous areas when he came on, but otherwise the players introduced from the bench were very quiet. Pablo Sarabia, in particular, had a nightmare with too many wayward passes.

The quadruple change after 59 minutes made an immediate impact as Wolves upped the tempo and harnessed the energy from the crowd to have a strong five minutes.

But Brighton quickly took the sting out of the game, slowed it down and controlled possession to silence the fans and leave Wolves with no answers.

Wolves did nothing to test the Brighton defence, while the visitors did not have to be at their best to earn all three points.

The players are committed and have carried themselves well under Pereira, but this was a performance that proved there is still work to do.

Pereira wanted his team to show they can compete with teams like Brighton next season, but this game showed they are not quite there yet.

Wolves were second best across the pitch and must quickly put this game behind them.

Pereira said: “We played a lot with our heart in the second half, but without intelligence to control the pace and the match goes to transitions, counter transitions. 

"We won the ball, lost the ball. This is not the game that I like, because it's unpredictable. In the end, they punished us, and they deserved the win.

"We can be better because we are better than what we showed in the second half. But now it's time to correct tactically and mentally.

"We need to keep our level and to compete for the three points in next two games.”

Pereira also wants to show his team next season can compete with the likes of Crystal Palace and Brentford - who Wolves finish this campaign playing.

They will have to be better in both boxes to do so, but they still have an opportunity to end the season in the right way.

Wolves have more than a week to prepare for their midweek trip to face Palace and that gives Pereira time to put it right on the training ground.