As each league loss piles up, Vitor Pereira finds the sands of time slipping away on his stint as Wolves manager. However, their recent exit from the Carabao Cup paints a different picture, showcasing a team whose fighting spirit remains unbroken.

Despite being in the crosshairs of Wolves fans for his tumultuous conduct following a defeat to Burnley, Pereira can point to several encouraging signs from the recent match against Chelsea to argue his case. The team maintained their resolve in a challenging environment, even after conceding early to Chelsea. This resilience is what they need to replicate when they face Fulham in the league this Saturday.

Competing in the Premier League is already a daunting task, and Wolves’ journey was made tougher as they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Enzo Maresca’s alternate lineup. Chelsea’s Andrey Santos, Tyrique George, and Estevao found the net in the first half. Despite a valiant fightback from Wolves, with goals from Tolu Arokodare and a brace by David Moller Wolfe, the result remained unchanged. Even Chelsea’s Liam Delap receiving their sixth red card of the season couldn’t tilt the balance.

To shake things up, Pereira overhauled his starting lineup from the team that suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to Burnley. Although this brought an improved performance, the underlying issues persisted. Poor defending gifted the opposition easy goals, igniting chants from the stands against owners Fosun, executive chairman Jeff Shi, and Pereira himself.

In light of yet another setback at Molineux, Daily Mail Sport explores the steps Wolves might take to steer their season back on track.

Pressure continued to mount on Vitor Pereira after Wolves lost 4-3 to Chelsea on Wednesday

The defeat saw Wolves crash out of the Carabao Cup, which is the least of their worries

Wolves’ defensive struggles under Pereira continued as Andrey Santos, Tyrique George, Estevao and Jamie Gittens (above) all scored for Chelsea at Molineux in the 4-3 win

What next for Pereira?

First the good news. At least this result did not push Wolves any closer to relegation from the Championship. A Carabao Cup exit in October is the least of their worries.

Yet despite backing Pereira with a new contract in September, and notwithstanding this gutsy display, Shi and Fosun are surely approaching the time when they need to cut the cord.

Perhaps still sore after the post-match exchange with Pereira last Sunday, the South Bank sang ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ at the Portuguese after Tyrique George had doubled Chelsea’s lead with barely 15 minutes on the clock. By the final whistle, having watched Wolves nearly mount a comeback, the home fans were applauding his team. 

Though they conceded three times before the interval, Wolves did not actually play too badly during the opening 45 minutes – as daft as that sounds. The problem for Pereira is that there were too many of those moments that usually mean a manager’s time is up.

It is not just about the fans turning. Chelsea’s first and third goals resulted from mistakes in possession that top-level players rarely make when times are happy. Tolu Arokodare’s loose touch allowed Jamie Gittens to tee up the opener for Santos, and Fer Lopez’s failure to control Jose Sa’s pass from goal let in Estevao for the third.

Fulham at Craven Cottage is the next obstacle. Few who saw Pereira’s antics post-Burnley – when he appeared to turn aggressively towards supporters in the home end after the final whistle – would have bet on the 57-year-old being here tonight/on Wednesday. 

Asked about Wolves’ survival chances at full-time, Pereira said: ‘We will do it again. I don’t have any doubts we’ll turn around the situation. We are a small club but we can do it together. This is the message. It’s not about me.’ 

Changing the coach will not guarantee success and Wolves issues run much deeper. But this display showed that whoever is in charge, there might – just might – be something to work with.

Chelsea’s first and third goals resulted from errors that top players rarely make when times are happy – Fer Lopez’s failure to control Jose Sa’s pass from goal let in Estevao for the third

A positive for Wolves is that they scored three goals – even if they were frail again in defence

What about the players?

We know by now the tell-tale signs for a team who have given up on their manager. Poor marking at set pieces, failure to make recovery runs and arguing with one another on the pitch are just three of them.

These were absent here. Wolves’ heads did not drop, not even at 2-0 down and with supporters in venomous mood. When Tosin Adarabioyo squared up to Hwang Hee-Chan after the Wolves man had fouled Romeo Lavia, several team-mates raced in to back him up.

As raw as anything, still Arokodare produced a good finish for his goal and with a little more composure, he might have had a hat-trick. Joao Gomes did well on his return to the starting XI and should keep his place at Fulham while on the right flank, Jackson Tchatchoua’s speed troubled Chelsea. Generally, these players performed better than those who started against Burnley.

If the attitude is OK and there is no drop-off between the starting XI and the replacements, perhaps there is still hope. The alternative reading is that whoever is chosen, this squad is not good enough to compete in the top flight. We will not need too much longer to learn the answer.