Gary O’Neil was on Saturday Night Football to cover Wolves vs Chelsea, and responded to a question about why he turned down the chance to return to Molineux.
O’Neil wasn’t going to get away with showing up for pundit duties without the Wolves news of last week being brought up.
Having been the front-runner for the job, O’Neil withdrew from consideration, saying it wasn’t the right time for him. That opened the door for Rob Edwards to become favourite for the Wolves post, and his arrival is imminent.
O’Neil showed support for Edwards to take the job and do well, before addressing the Wolves support.
Gary O’Neil’s reason for turning Wolves down
Some might have been disappointed to see O’Neil snub the chance to return to Wolves. Some thought it was a terrible idea.
But O’Neil’s reasoning is fairly sound.
Talking on Sky Sports’ Saturday Night Football, he says: “I spoke to football club, it’s a football club that I still have huge emotional connection for, I love the fanbase.
“We had some very good times together and tough moments, but great fans. Loved my time there, there were some people there that I’m very fond of, but it just didn’t feel like the right time or the right fit.”
Premier League managers tend to struggle on return to an old club, and it’s not even a year since the fanbase was up in arms over the job he was doing.
O’Neil’s rumoured Wolves return made no sense, and it’s certainly for the best that he came to that decision. It’s also deeply concerning that he had to pull the plug, but Fosun were happy to roll the dice with him again.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  BurnleyBurnley | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 22 | -8 | 10 |
| 18 |  West HamWest Ham | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 10 |
| 19 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 6 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 22 | -15 | 2 |
The latest on Rob Edwards to Wolves
It’s a new day, and it really feels like the day Wolves will finally announce Edwards as manager.
The latest from Middlesbrough is that Edwards wants to join Wolves, and the club have agreed to let him commence talks.
The sooner he can come in, the better. Wolves are starting to lose sight of the teams ahead, and we’re nearly a third of the way through the season.
Let’s hope Edwards is bringing magic with him to Molineux.