Gary O’Neil has been the subject of a host of criticism this season as a result of Wolves’ poor start to the campaign.
The Old Gold haven’t won in the Premier League since beating Luton Town back in April, representing a six-month streak without three points.
Since then, it’s been a flurry of defeats with the occasional draw, explaining why O’Neil has come under fire from rightfully disgruntled supporters.
A late draw against Brighton at the Amex on matchday nine certainly bolstered the mood at Compton, with Matheus Cunha to thank for the last-gasp point.
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Matheus Cunha praises Wolves manager Gary O’Neil
All season, there’s been a lot of praise for Cunha, who already has four Premier League goals in nine appearances this term.
The Brazilian is the figure that Wolves consistently call upon, being the star of O’Neil’s show at Molineux.
While Cunha is in the spotlight and O’Neil is somewhat under the microscope, the forward insists that if it wasn’t for the manager, he wouldn’t be at the level he is currently operating at.
“For me, he’s [O’Neil] one of the best managers that I’ve had in my career. He’s improved me a lot,” Cunha admitted in an interview published on Wolves’ official website.
“Not only as a player but he’s improved me to be calm and manage situations. I can be frustrating and I feel like he can always help me in every single point of being a human, a player and a man.”
Cunha is incredibly grateful for the patience of O’Neil to get him out of his shell in the Premier League, something that the Brazilian has not always had in his career.
Diego Simeone was not the right manager for Cunha
Despite O’Neil’s recent failures at Wolves, there’s no denying the impact the boss has had on Cunha.
Over the 2022/23 campaign, representing both Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, Cunha scored two goals in 37 appearances.
Following O’Neil’s arrival, the forward’s numbers rocketed to 14 goals in 36 in 2023/24, with him currently on four in nine this season.
Cunha has found sanctuary working with the Englishman, a support system that he didn’t have at Atletico, as his father once declared.
“In Simeone’s system, there is no way for any striker to thrive. It is very difficult,” Carmelo Cunha told Brazilian outlet Ge Globo in 2022.
The 25-year-old reserves the highest of praise for O’Neil, crowning the manager one of the best coaches he’s worked with in his career so far, with even the best not coming close to the Wolves boss.