There have been turbulent times at Wolves in recent years, but right now the club is in a decent spot.
This time last year, Gary O’Neil had just come in at Wolves, and the club were frantically trying to provide him with some players while facilitating the exit of Matheus Nunes, who had gone on strike.
In the end, the club brought in Santi Bueno, Tommy Doyle, Enso Gonzalez and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
O’Neil did a great job last term. Had it not been for some awful VAR decisions and injuries to key players, Wolves would have surely sealed a top-10 finish.
The objective this season is to shoot for European football. It will be a tall order, but the positive signs have been there.
It may well depend on what Wolves do in the transfer market in the coming days.
But O’Neil has proven himself as a great Premier League manager – and some new quotes from Matheus Cunha show that he doesn’t just get things right tactically.
Matheus Cunha says ‘the whole team’ has an ‘unbelievable’ relationship with Gary O’Neil
Cunha is one player who has benefitted immensely from the arrival of O’Neil.
Last season, he made 22 goal contributions for Wolves and established himself as one of the most important players in the team.
O’Neil found the right role for him, succeeding where Julen Lopetegui did not.
O’Neil regularly praised Cunha during last season, and both he and the player have admitted they often talk tactics and are very open with one another. Sometimes they have disagreements, but both insist it’s healthy.
Cunha has been speaking about O’Neil in a new interview with The Times, and it’s clear he has a very strong relationship with his manager. And it isn’t just him.
He said: “I feel he cares about me much more than only as a football player. He teaches me a lot of things in life.
“We have some fights of course. We both want to win and the fight is when I think we need to win this way and he shows me no, it’s another way, you need to remember we have a plan, and I say, ‘Yes, of course, I’m sorry!’
“He understands me a lot. It’s not easy to have a lot of guys from different cultures but the whole team has an unbelievable relationship with him. He pushes us to be better.”
Cunha comments are very encouraging
The Wolves dressing room had not been in a particularly good place before O’Neil’s arrival.
None of the past three managers, Lopetegui, Bruno Lage or Nuno Espirito Santo, were really known for their warmth, and there would often be reports about things not being well.
O’Neil came in and seemed to recognise straight away that improving the dressing room dynamics would be key, and he and Matt Hobbs have done a great job on that front.
The right characters have been signed as well as the right players, and you can just tell now that all the players are happy and singing from the same hymn sheet.
What is also obvious is the love and respect they have for O’Neil. Before Cunha’s comments, Joao Gomes also talked up O’Neil’s man-management skills.
The Brazilian said earlier this summer: “Let me tell you, he is the kind of guy who does everything for us, and I’ll do whatever it takes to help him. He worries a lot more about me than people from my own family, you know? The bond I have with him is great.”
Hopefully, this strong relationship he has with all his players will help him in his pursuit of European football.