Vitor Pereira 'set to sign new Wolves contract' despite horror start to the season - as talks between club and manager enter 'advanced stage'

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira is reportedly closing in on a new deal despite their disastrous start to the season. 

Pereira, who saved them last season, is said to be in the 'advanced stages' of a renewal agreement with club chiefs.

That reward will come despite Wolves sitting bottom of the Premier League with four defeats from four games. His current 18-month deal expires at the end of the season.

Wolves will give him a longer and more lucrative contract than the one he signed upon joining in December, according to the city's newspaper the Express & Star. 

It is a show of faith in a man who rescued them last campaign. Pereira replaced Gary O'Neil in December with Wolves sat 19th and four points from safety, having won just two of their first 16 games.

By the end of the campaign, Wolves finished 16th, 17 points clear of the drop zone. His record spoke for itself - 10 wins and three draws in 22 games, a rate of points-scoring which would have been good enough for the top half across the entire season. 

That track record is why Wolves are not panicking under Pereira, 57, whose career has seen him garner experience at 14 clubs. 

He is a popular figure in the Midlands, known to share a drink with supporters in the local pub, and partied with fans at the Moon Under Water pub in the city centre after beating Tottenham 4-2 last season. 

It should also be noted that Wolves sold two of their best players, Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri, to Manchester United and Manchester City respectively in the summer. 

They did hold on to Jorgen Strand Larsen, who was the subject of interest from Newcastle, and completed the £23.4million signing of fellow striker Tolu Arokodare from Genk. 

Pereira will know that a new deal is not a licence to fail. Erik ten Hag has found out that hard way - Bayer Leverkusen got rid of him just two games into this Bundesliga season, while Manchester United canned him last October after handing a new deal in the summer. 

Wolves will hope for a quick turnaround and will be encouraged by the fact that most of their games have been close.

Barring a 4-0 opening-day battering to Manchester City, who performed exceptionally, Wolves have lost all their games by one-goal margins against Bournemouth, Everton, and Newcastle. 

They also came from behind against West Ham to progress in the Carabao Cup thanks to two late goals from Strand Larsen. 

Their next run of fixtures will be defining as Wolves face all the newly promoted teams in their upcoming five games, starting with Leeds at Molineux on Saturday.