Tommy Doyle has acknowledged that Wolverhampton Wanderers have benefitted greatly from the arrival of new head coach Vitor Pereira.
When Gary O'Neil was sacked on December 15, Wolves were on the brink of being cut adrift in the relegation zone ahead of a trip to rivals Leicester City.
However, the West Midlands outfit have since collected seven points from Premier League fixtures against the Foxes, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
That has led to Wolves entering 2025 sitting in 17th position in the Premier League table and one point above the bottom three, while they remain just six points adrift of 14th-placed Man United.
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Although Doyle has been restricted to three substitute outings under Pereira, his new Portuguese head coach celebrated wildly with him when the midfielder made the tackle that led to Wolves' victory-clinching goal over United on Boxing Day.
Speaking to the Express & Star, Doyle has conceded that Wolves were right to part ways with O'Neil in a bid to save their season.
Furthermore, the former England Under-21 international feels that there is a greater unity on the back of more players being provided with opportunities to contribute.
He said: "The change was probably needed near the end. You can see how a lot of lads are kind of revitalised, and a lot more lads are getting minutes and the squad is being used.
"Everybody feels good and the changing room is in a great spot right now, and I think that's down to the manager and his staff."
He added: "We just feel a lot closer and you can feel that on the pitch now. We're fighting and we're playing with that enthusiasm, we're holding accountability of each other, and the manager holds us accountable as well."
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What next for Wolves?
Wolves are not back in action until they play host to Nottingham Forest on January 6. If Leicester City overcome Aston Villa or Ipswich Town get the better of Fulham, Wolves will start that game in the bottom three.
An FA Cup third-round tie at Bristol City follows that contest, with star man Matheus Cunha absent from both fixtures due to suspension.
Doyle will hope to start at least one of those fixtures having been provided with just 551 minutes across 17 appearances all season.
Darren Plant
