Wolves briefing: An important few days ahead for Cesar Peixoto

It just might be the most important of his Wolves reign to date.

After a three-week international break was followed by a run of five matches in a fortnight, the head coach and his players finally have the chance to take a step back, assess the season so far and put in some extended time on the training pitch.

“We are going to improve the team, for sure, we need this kind of week,” said Peixoto about the prospect of a full seven days between fixtures, the longest gap outside of an international break for more than a month.

If that is true, then supporters can expect an improved performance when Cardiff City visit Molineux on Saturday, for a match where the man in the dugout will be under just that little more scrutiny, following the negative reaction he received from some sections of the crowd in last weekend’s win over Watford.

A strange situation

Few managers can have ever found themselves in such a position as Peixoto.

His team sit fourth in the Championship, two points outside the top-two, with pretty much every statistic you can find confirming it is the least they deserve.

And yet there is increasing noise over whether Peixoto is the right man to lead the push for promotion.

Saturday was the first time it has been heard in the stands. Typically, when that happens, a manager is on borrowed time.

This feels different because for all that Peixoto had to endure the boos, the boss is playing the role of lightning rod to frustrations which are mainly felt toward those higher up at boardroom level.

Wolves still feels like a club bruised from relegation. Such is the expectation of an immediate return, there is a fragility around any revival. Peixoto is only ever two bad results away from being under pressure.

That’s not his fault but it is his problem and there are things he can do to help.

Finding the balance

One of those is on finding the right balance between defence and attack.

Wolves started the season like a team ready to take risks to win. Their mindset appeared to simply be “we’ll score one more than you”. Little about their approach was dull.

But a heavy defeat at West Ham, followed by a rather fortunate draw at Blues and the loss of Raul Jimenez to injury, has seen a drastic change.

After scoring 13 goals in their first five matches, Wolves have scored seven in their next seven and while it has been effective, to a degree, there is a sense they have almost become a little too safe.

The larger point is Peixoto does not seem to have yet found the right mixture which gets both the maximum out of his attacking players, while ensuring there is sufficient protection at the back.

Settled team needed

In response, Peixoto would say his hand has been forced by the schedule.

The Portuguese has been consistent in claiming the number of changes he has continued to make to his starting XI - 18 in total across the last four matches - were out of necessity because of the busy schedule.

His belief is the team will be stronger in the long-run for the tinkering, while he recently insisted he knows his best XI.

This weekend, presuming Fer Lopez and Nasser Djiga have recovered from the knocks which kept them out of the line-up against Watford, would appear the ideal time to name it.