Soccer

Wolves hope to make swift appointment after sacking Gary O’Neil as head coach

O’Neil departs after home defeat to Ipswich left club second from bottom in the Premier League table

Wolves have sacked manager Gary O'Neil after the defeat to Ipswich Town on Saturday. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images
Wolves have sacked manager Gary O'Neil after the defeat to Ipswich Town on Saturday. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Images
Jacob Steinberg
Sun Dec 15 2024 - 14:00

Wolves aim to make a swift appointment after the club took action in their relegation fight by sacking Gary O’Neil on Sunday morning.

O’Neil, who has been under growing pressure since the start of the season, was fired less than 24 hours after seeing his side lose 2-1 at home to Ipswich on Saturday. Wolves are 19th in the Premier League after four consecutive defeats, four points away from Crystal Palace in 17th place, and have the worst defensive record in the top flight after conceding 40 goals in 16 games.

“We’re very grateful to Gary for all of his effort, dedication and hard work during his time at the club, and we wish him and his team the best of luck for the future,” said Wolves’ chairman, Jeff Shi, in a statement posted on the club’s official website.

Wolves gave O’Neil a new contract in August and were reluctant to make a change. An issue for the club has been identifying the right replacement for the 41-year-old. Graham Potter, the former Brighton and Chelsea manager, rebuffed their interest in him last month and it is thought that David Moyes, the former West Ham manager, would not be easy to hire.

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Wolves have previously shown interest in the West Brom manager, Carlos Corberán, but the Spaniard is seen as an unlikely appointment. They visit Leicester next Sunday and want to bring in a new manager this week.

Wolves have been keen to avoid a repeat of the uncertainty that followed the sacking of Bruno Lage in October 2022. It took them another month to bring in Julen Lopetegui, who quit before the start of last season, citing dissatisfaction with the club’s transfer strategy.

Wolves replaced Lopetegui with O’Neil and finished 14th after recording wins over Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City. Yet a lack of investment in the squad has come back to bite them. Over £200 million has been raised through sales in recent years, with Matheus Nunes, Rúben Neves, Conor Coady and Raúl Jiménez departing, and the talent drain continued when Max Kilman and Pedro Neto left last summer.

O’Neil has had to pick up the pieces. Supporters have grown disillusioned with his tactics since the FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Coventry in March. Results have deteriorated and morale has plummeted. Ipswich’s stoppage-time winner was the 20th time that Wolves have conceded from a set piece this season.

There were angry scenes at full time, as the left back Rayan Aït-Nouri had to be pulled away from an argument with the centre back Craig Dawson. Mario Lemina had been stripped of the captaincy after clashing with O’Neil’s assistant, Shaun Derry, at the end of last Monday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham. – Guardian