Wolves struck gold by hiring Gary O’Neil however, Sporting Director Matt Hobbs has admitted that the club are already looking to replace him.
It’s been a busy year for Gary O’Neil, who took charge of Wolves just days before the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Englishman returned to management in the Premier League after being cruelly axed by Bournemouth, taking over from Julen Lopetegui at Molineux.
It was always going to be a tough ask for O’Neil to turn things around at Wolves after the mass exile in the 2023 summer transfer window however, things seem to be on the up for the boss and his squad.
Matt Hobbs says Wolves are already looking for a Gary O’Neil replacement amid England links
Despite performances heading in the right direction for Wolves with O’Neil at the helm, Sporting Director Matt Hobbs admitted that the club are looking to replace him.
In an in-depth interview with Sky Sports, Hobbs credited O’Neil’s hard work by acknowledging other teams swarming around his availability in the near future.
As a result, Hobbs revealed that it’s the “prudent thing to do” for Wolves to already start considering possible successors to the 41-year-old, who is among the favourites for the England job after Gareth Southgate’s exit.
“They [England] should be looking at him, I get it. He is excellent and I would be surprised if clubs weren’t looking at him.
“We will be doing work on other head coaches, not because we want Gary to leave but because that is the prudent thing to do.”
Of course, Hobbs’ admission that Wolves might need to search for a successor comes as a compliment to the boss, with the Sporting Director insisting that the plan is to reward the coach with a new contract.
“That is naturally where this is going, he has done well enough to have that conversation.
“Part of that conversation will be the plan for the club and that is where you have to have the honest conversations about what it looks like going forward.”
O’Neil is a respected figure at Molineux
Hobbs’ praise of O’Neil told what Wolves fans would have expected to hear from someone who works closely with the manager.
The Sporting Director described the boss as someone who is “unbelievably meticulous”, praising his “incredible” attention to detail and work ethic.
Towards the latter stages of the 2023/24 campaign, there was talk that O’Neil was in the pipeline to take up a coaching role at Manchester United, something that the manager dismissed.
At the start of last season, not many would have even expected Wolves to remain in the top flight having lost a host of key players during the 2023 window.
Instead, a real improvement was visible on the pitch, seeing fans exposed to a positive and thrilling style of football, with players levelling up all thanks to the influence of O’Neil.
It’s unsurprising that the club are wary of just how highly-rated the boss is, making Hobbs’ comments on identifying a possible successor understandable.