Wolves fans are concerned at the moment, but the owners have made their position about the manager clear.
Gary O’Neil is being backed by his superiors at Wolves for the time being, as there is an acceptance that fixtures have been tough.
There is a view that performances have actually been decent so far, despite a haul of just one point from seven Premier League games.
O’Neil has had a lot of credit in the bank from last season, after he came in at Molineux just days before the new campaign started and guided the club to a 14th-placed finish. O’Neil might well have had Wolves higher up in the table had he had better luck with injuries and VAR decisions.
Journalist Liam Keen has been speaking about O’Neil on the latest E&S podcast, and offered one reason why the Wolves board are keeping the faith.
Wolves fear Gary O’Neil would be successful elsewhere
Although O’Neil has been backed, the pressure is definitely mounting.
The Englishman needs points on the board, and the games against Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham and Bournemouth will be defining.
According to Keen, another reason Wolves officials are keen to give O’Neil time is because they apparently fear he’d have the potential to be very successful at another club.
Keen said: “They want to stick by Gary O’Neil, they want him to be the person moving forward. I expect, whether that’s this season or in 10 seasons’ time, O’Neil to be a manager that does very well at Premier League level.
“I think there’s a general feeling at Wolves that ‘if we let him go, we’ll regret it further down the line, even if we do stay in the Premier League this season’.
“They want to try and give him as long as they possibly can, but without putting their Premier League status at serious risk. They’re not at serious risk right now, but time is going to be the factor here, they’ve only got so long.”
O’Neil has undoubtedly shown his potential
There is no doubt that O’Neil has the potential to become a top manager.
He did superbly well last season under very tough circumstances, and he is now overseeing his first properly tough period at the helm.
| Gary O’Neil’s record at Wolves so far |
| Games managed – 54 |
| Wins – 18 |
| Draws – 9 |
| Losses – 27 |
| Points per match – 1.17 |
Yes, he has made some questionable decisions this term. But he’s still in the infancy of his managerial career so it is to be expected that he will make mistakes.
Keen went on to say that when he was watching the team in pre-season, he was struck by how ‘impressive, intelligent and hardworking’ O’Neil was.
O’Neil’s strong work ethic at Wolves is no secret at this point and it’s understandable the board wants to give him as much time as possible to turn things around.