Nuno Espirito Santo’s sudden departure from Wolves last Friday sent shockwaves around the Premier League, not least legendary striker Steve Bull.
The Portuguese manager was approaching the end of his fourth campaign at Molineux and had recently guided the club to Premier League safety once again.
Less than 10 months ago, Santo led Wolves to a second consecutive seventh-place finish and the quarter finals of the Europa League, but moments after conducting his press conference for the final-day visit of Manchester United, he announced that he’d be leaving his post.
Santo was appointed prior to the 2017-2018 campaign and turned Wolves into Championship winners in their first season, before a seventh-place finish saw them qualify for Europe for the first time for more than 20 years.
But the previous season has proved a challenging one for the 47-year-old, who’s struggled without his talisman Raul Jimenez, with Wolves’ league form suffering as a result.
Wolves managed just 12 Premier League victories all season, and only six in their final 25 matches, leading to Santo’s exit on Friday.
And Bull told Football FanCast that he was as stunned as anyone that Santo decided to call it a day:
“Oh my word! You can ask anybody in the football world, that would have been the unlikeliest thing to happen at Wolves.
“It’s a shock to everybody, I thought he was here for the longer haul, like an Alex Ferguson type, but obviously the club has got different opinions.”
