“When the players step out of line, they’re heavily punished by me.”
Wolves players were booed off the pitch by their home fans after a 2-1 loss to Ipswich, and one had to be carried off after a full-time scuffle.
A furious Rayan Ait-Nouri, who received a second yellow card for his actions, was taken off the pitch by teammate Craig Dawson, after clashing with Ipswich players and staff, while goalscorer Matheus Cunha also had to be ushered off.
It is yet unclear what exactly sparked the mini skirmish, but it is the second time in two games that there has been trouble after the final whistle for Wolves.
The Molineux side now sit 19th in the Premier League table, with boss Gary O’Neil looking close to getting the sack.
After Ireland’s Jack Taylor secured a 94th-minute win, O’Neil said: “There are some areas in the pitch where we are blessed with quality. Matheus Cunha is a Premier League player, undoubtedly. Nelson Semedo – Premier League player, undoubtedly. Mario Lemina. We are going through the same issues and I will work to fix this and then also in January we can look to do that as well.
“The first place I look is at me. The first place they need to look is at themselves. They have to prove it. They have to step out there and prove it. They are a great group and I will protect them but they get judged on those 90 minutes. Within the game there will be good stuff but it’s not enough. We need to win football matches.”
He added: “When the players step out of line, they’re heavily punished by me. I haven’t seen it, but Rayan will know how I feel about it already because getting a second yellow card and being unavailable for next week’s game can have catastrophic consequences.
“However much stress and however much pressure we’re under at this moment, we need to keep control. We saw it a little bit when we went down to 10 men when Matheus Cunha came off (for treatment) and our central midfielder goes and presses Ipswich’s goalie when we’re down to 10 men.”
