Defiant Gary O'Neil looking forward to 'standing at the front' as Wolves face Southampton

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil insists he is not worried about his future ahead of Saturday’s bottom of the table Premier League clash with Southampton.

O’Neil’s side go into the match at Molineux propping up the division with only three points from their opening 10 games, leaving them one point and one place below the Saints.

Wolves are one of only two winless sides in the Premier League, alongside Ipswich, but did manage to end a run of six successive defeats in all competitions with 2-2 draws against Brighton and Crystal Palace in their last two outings.

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Anything other than a victory on Saturday will see Wolves remain rooted to the bottom heading into the international break, but under-pressure O’Neil says his own future is the last thing on his mind.

He said: “My job and my future is the least of my worries. I don’t ask the club for any backing or support, I’m very comfortable in this seat or on the side of the pitch.

“I know the nature of this job, I’m very comfortable in my own skin and the work which is done here. Since the moment I’ve been here I’ve given absolutely everything. There have been challenges thrown at us that I’ve always faced full on, there’s been no shying away from it. It’s important I take full responsibility of the club since I’ve been here and we embrace every challenge.

“I’m looking forward to standing at the front. In difficult situations you find out a lot about people.

“I came in to Wolves where everyone was tipping them for relegation. The more difficult it gets the more I’m ready to go.”

Chants of discontent were aimed at the Wolves touchline during last week’s home draw with Palace after O’Neil made three substitutions in response to going a goal down on the hour.

O’Neil defended his decision making and expects the Wolves fans to be fully behind the team come Saturday afternoon.

He said: “When there are negative noises (against Palace), I felt really comfortable and backed my own decisions. The impact that the three substitutions had and the fact we spun the game in short amount of minutes shows we’re on the right side.

“I would fully expect them to be fully behind the team, in this moment we have to suffer I’m sure the crowd will feel that with us.

“They are expected to be emotional and passionate about their team – it’ll never change how I feel about the support I’ve had here.”

Wolves have conceded 27 goals already this season, six more than any other team, and have failed to keep a clean sheet so far.

It is a record O’Neil knows they need to improve on. He said: “We need to stop that of course. Very difficult to win games if you concede two every week or whatever it may be.

“Off the back of Brentford (5-3 loss) we have looked more solid – but we work very hard and am aware of all the areas we are not doing well in.”