Gary O’Neil has now joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year-deal ahead of the new Premier League season.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers are set to begin a new era under the management of highly-rated young coach Gary O’Neil. He will replace Julen Lopetegui following his departure from the club recently. O’Neil moves to Molineux on the back of a positive spell at Bournemouth. He took over the club which was fighting for relegation and helped them maintain their Premier League status last season yet he was unable to keep the job.
Gary O’Neil has now joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three-year-deal ahead of the new Premier League season. He might just be 40 years of age, however, O’Neil has already earned a good amount of respect among his fellow coaches. Having been a midfielder during his playing days, O’Neil’s first job will be to help Wolves prepare for a difficult league opener away to Manchester United on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Sporting director Matt Hobbs went into detail to explain the process behind the appointment of Gary O’Neil. “I had a conversation with Julen in the tunnel after the Celtic game. He was honest with his opinion and what he thought should happen. What was great was he was happy for us to take our time and interview other candidates and he was willing to wait until we found the right person, continuing to work and prepare the team properly,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s website.
He added: “The way he and his staff worked during that period tells you everything you need to know about them. It’s allowed us time to go through a thorough process. It’s an opportunity to do something different with a young, up and coming British coach and from the people we met, Gary was clearly the right person from very early into his presentation.”
Hobbs also informed what impressed him the most about O’Neil during the interview process. “His attention to detail, thoroughness and history of developing players impressed us – he’s worked with both young and experienced players and understands the process. The detail he showed with his tactical work, including against us last year, gives you confidence about the work he and his staff put into every game,” he explained.
“He has his way of playing, what he wants to do, but he tweaks it for each opposition and understands he has to change patterns of games to create opportunities. He’s very forward thinking, very driven, like he has a point to prove because he did a great job at Bournemouth. I came away feeling very excited and optimistic after the interview. I’m pleased to have him on board.
Meanwhile, the Sporting director was also pleased with the understanding O’Neil had on the Wolves’ squad. “He showed good knowledge of our squad and how it works within his principles. Like any new manager, it’ll take time to get used to the players and understand them, not only on a tactical level. Part of our decision was if he fits to our squad, because we don’t want to rebuild a squad, we want to keep our principles going forward now, so we can have a long-term strategy,” he elaborated.
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