Newcastle v Wolves preview: No rest for the Wolfpack as a tough Toon trip beckons

In their race for European football and FA Cup ambitions, Wolves are coming to the end of a season-defining week where they have managed 1-0 wins over Sheffield United and Brighton.

Now ninth in the Premier League and right in the mix for Europe, and with an FA Cup quarter-final due in two weeks, O’Neil and his side travel to the North East for their third game in six days against worthy opposition.

The Wolves head coach was disappointed at the scheduling as he felt Wolves should have been given more time to prepare and played the FA Cup fifth round on the weekend, but he is also aware of the test the Magpies will pose.

In order to keep his small squad fit for the game, with several players suffering from fatigue against Brighton on Wednesday night, O’Neil is having to take precautions in training to avoid further injuries.

“We won’t have much rest,” the head coach said.

“The lads need to get recovered and get ready for another really tough game.

“We won’t do much on the grass at all. We’ll be preparing for Newcastle in the meeting room and walking through a few bits outside.

“We’ll do enough to try and get their legs going without putting anything on them at all.

“They will be running into the Newcastle game having hopefully recovered as well as possible from this one.

“Then we have the medical stuff that we’ll need to analyse because sometimes things show up in the morning that feel a bit sore.

“I’m sure it will be an eventful couple of days getting the lads ready for a very tough test.

“I’ve been there enough times as a player and as a coach. It’s an incredibly tough place to go that will test your mentality and test your energy levels.

“We’re going to need to find a way to make sure we’re at our top level again.”

Wolves have one of the best injury records in the Premier League this season but suffered a blow on Wednesday when Hwang Hee-chan went down with a hamstring injury.

O’Neil was confident it was not a serious injury, but said he would be ‘amazed’ if the forward was available for tomorrow’s game.

Mario Lemina also came off with a knock but is likely to be fit, while Joao Gomes’ issue at the end of the game was only cramp.

Now, O’Neil needs to find another solution to his attacking line-up with Hwang and Matheus Cunha sidelined. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will be one player hoping to keep his place in the team.

“At least I get to enjoy another couple of days of (working out) who gets to play up front on my whiteboard,” O’Neil laughed.

“We’ll try to figure out the number nine conundrum for another couple of days. We’re really disappointed for Channy.”