Gary O’Neil in running for Wolves return after holding talks to replace Vitor Pereira

Wolves have held talks with former head coach Gary O’Neil about a possible return to the role less than a year after he was sacked by the club, the PA news agency understands.

Vitor Pereira was sacked on Sunday after bottom club Wolves’ winless Premier League start to the season was extended to 10 matches in Saturday’s defeat at Fulham.

O’Neil is a leading contender together with Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards, who distanced himself from the job on Monday without categorically ruling himself out. It is also understood there are other candidates.

Former West Ham midfielder O’Neil is ready to return to management after departing Wolves in December last year when the club were 19th in the table and four points from safety.

Edwards, who spent four years at Molineux as a player until 2008, has also been installed among the bookmakers’ favourites to replace Pereira.

When asked about the speculation at a press conference before Middlesbrough’s Championship game at Leicester on Tuesday, Edwards said: “I was told by my daughter yesterday, so that probably tells you where I stand on it.

“You know my links to the club but my full focus is on this job here, which is a brilliant job, and trying to turn things around from the weekend in a really big game against Leicester.

“Speculation stuff is hard for me to comment about, anything else other than Middlesbrough Football Club, which is where my focus is, that we’ve done a decent job so far.”

Edwards was appointed by Boro in June following Michael Carrick’s dismissal and they sit second in the table after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Watford, three points behind leaders Coventry.

“It’s all speculation anyway,” Edwards added. “I never get drawn on stuff that’s all hypothetical, and I don’t want to get drawn on that.

“I love being Middlesbrough manager and that’s what I want to think about.

“All I can say is I’ve not given it a single thought, because my focus is just on this.

“I can’t talk about anything else. It’s just all the stuff that my daughter was telling me about.”

Edwards won promotion to League One in 2022 as manager of Forest Green and after a brief spell at Watford ended in the sack, he guided Luton to the Premier League in 2023.

Wolves dismissed Pereira just weeks after he signed a new long-term contract with the club in September.

The Portuguese steered Wolves away from relegation trouble last season but they remain winless in this campaign and sit bottom of the table, eight points from safety.

Edwards has been installed as second favourite by the bookies, behind O’Neil, while Rui Borges, Brendan Rodgers, Kevin Muscat, Sergio Conceicao and Erik ten Hag also feature highly on their list.