Wolves manager Gary O’Neil will have impressed many with his approach to integrating academy players this pre-season.
The summer break is over for Gary O’Neil’s Wolves squad as the team begin pre-season preparations for the 2024/25 campaign.
The Old Gold are currently in Marbella at a training camp as part of their pre-season festivities, allowing the manager to properly assess his players.
Last summer, O’Neil was unable to get to know his players prior to the start of the Premier League calendar, making this summer’s pre-season even more valuable for the boss.
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Gary O’Neil impresses with his approach to young players during Wolves pre-season training
Currently following Wolves in Marbella is Express and Star journalist Liam Keen, who has documented all things interesting from the training camp.
The Wolves expert interviewed O’Neil’s assistant head coach Tim Jenkins in a column for E&S on Monday, where the manager’s approach to helping young players was noted.
When commenting on the academy jewels who have joined the first team to train in Spain, Keen explained something he had seen O’Neil do when working with midfielder Luke Rawlings.
‘In Marbella training, O’Neil was encouraging Rawlings to take chances with his passing in a game scenario and said he doesn’t care if the youngster makes mistakes.
‘Moments later the midfielder pinged a delightful pass out wide and it is that fearlessness that Wolves want to hone, while also ensuring these young talents remain patient and continue to perform when they return to the academy.’
It’s uplifting to hear the attention that O’Neil is giving to the younger members of the squad, who have been handed the opportunity to learn from the senior players around them in pre-season.
Also in the column, assistant head coach Jenkins explained that there is “an understanding that it’s ok to fail” with the youngsters in the squad, reinforcing how positive the current environment at the club is for the upcoming talents.
O’Neil gave young players a chance last season at Wolves
The 2023/24 campaign showed many shades of O’Neil that Wolves fans will be encouraged by, including his attitude to giving young players a chance.
Highly-rated defender Wesley Okoduwa was named on the bench in the Premier League five times last term, making the matchday squad at just 15 years old, telling of O’Neil’s willingness to test the next generation.
The likes of Leon Chiwome, Nathan Fraser and Tawanda Chirewa were all given chances to shine in the Premier League last season, giving an indication of the manager’s stance on presenting opportunities to academy players.
Such an approach is promising for Wolves, with there an understanding that good academy performances can fast-track the journey to the first-team squad no matter the player’s age.
Next term will be interesting to see if the boss hands further opportunities to academy stars, with the next wave of Wolves talent there to be unlocked by O’Neil.