Wolves have problems that new boss Julen Lopetegui must address

When Julen Lopetegui casts a critical eye over his new Wolves charges before he begins work properly during the World Cup, he will come to a pretty swift conclusion.

The former Real Madrid and Spain boss will take charge on 14 November, when the Premier League pauses for the World Cup in Qatar.

Interim manager Steve Davis is expecting to speak with Lopetegui when he checks in on Friday before watching the Premier League game against Arsenal at Molineux the following day.

Before that, the 56-year-old will be sending an advance party, with his coaching team due to arrive before Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with Leeds.

Davis's advice will be stark. After the 3-2 home defeat by Brighton, he accused Wolves of conceding soft goals and getting "a bit panicky" when the opposition get into the box.

"If I was in his shoes, I would be looking to increase the numbers with some quality because it needs a little bit more," Davis said.

"The confidence has grown over the last three or four games but we are still letting silly goals in.

"The club needs someone who can stamp his philosophy on it and know what players he needs to fit the system he wants to play.

"There is quality here but maybe the balance is not quite right."

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Owners Fosun facing test of credentials

This is the most difficult period Chinese owners Fosun have encountered since they paid £45m for the famous old Black Country club in 2016.

Their initial two managerial appointments, Walter Zenga and Paul Lambert, were not successful and they ended up finishing 15th in the Championship.

It was not until the arrivals of manager Nuno Espirito Santo and midfielder Ruben Neves in the summer of 2017 that the course of Wolves' recent history changed.

Neves' long-term future at Wolves is open to debate. But right now, he is essential.

Not only has he scored in the last two games, Neves is the dressing-room leader and is one player who has the composure Davis felt too often was missing from his team. Crucially, he knows Lopetegui. He was the coach who gave Neves his debut for FC Porto as a 17-year-old in 2014.

"He is special because he gave me my professional debut," Neves told BBC Sport.

"At that time in Portugal nobody does that. He's a special person for me. Because of him I started to play professional football at Porto. I'm 100% sure he is a great coach."

Unlike two weeks ago, when Wolves lost to Leicester and were booed off, the Brighton defeat triggered appreciative applause for a battling performance after the hosts had been reduced to 10 men just before half-time.

Chairman Jeff Shi sat impassively in the directors' box, as he always does.

His response to the first Fosun crisis was to move across to the UK from his base in China. Now he is more hands-on, he needs to get major decisions right. After Lopetegui initially rejected his approach following Bruno Lage's dismissal because he wanted to remain in Spain, Shi turned his attentions to QPR boss Michael Beale but was rejected again.

Shi did not panic. Lopetegui was his first choice so he went back, and although the precise details of the arrangement remain secret, this time he got his man.

Speaking to fans before the game, there was acceptance that sacking Lage last month was the right call and bringing Lopetegui in is also the right move given the options available.

"I am happy about the appointment," said long-time fan Mark Perry. "He has a good pedigree and is the best available to us at the moment.

"Fosun are very savvy. They are one of the biggest businesses in the world and they keep everything in house. We never really know about our big signings so was this the plan all along? Did they hold out for him?"

Wolves have a storied past. The Nuno era brought European football and if not recollections of the 1950s glory days, then at least the 1970s, when the club were Uefa Cup regulars.

More recently, it has not been so good. In the 1980s, they spent a couple of years in the fourth tier. Before Fosun's involvement, they spent just four seasons out of almost a quarter of a century in the top flight.

That perspective is lost on many young fans and, indeed, older ones who pay their money to see a team who they feel is capable of far better than it is delivering, even without a main striker in the injury absence of Raul Jimenez and Sasa Kalajdzic, who ruptured his cruciate on his debut in September.

But for others, including 79-year-old Lee Hawkins, that perspective helps.

"The club spent a lot of money on players but we also let good ones leave for not a lot - [Conor] Coady, [Romain] Saiss, [Leander] Dendoncker," he said.

"They had to let Lage go. He was out of his depth. The last 10 or 12 games of last season, the writing was on the wall for him and this season has been no better.

"But we can't afford to get relegated. The Chinese owners might start to think 'what's the point?'"

There is no indication that is true. However, it is difficult to see how a coach with Lopetegui's reputation could be happy managing in the Championship.

A lot may well rest on the next six months at Molineux.

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