Wolves went ninth in the Premier League table after beating Fulham 2-1 at Molineux with a brilliant performance on Saturday.
Wanderers initially went eighth, but Brighton’s win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday pushed them back down.
It was a terrific result for Wolves, given the fact that Gary O’Neil came into the game without Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan and then lost both Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Pedro Neto to injuries.
Rayan Ait-Nouri really stepped up for the hosts, opening the scoring, and Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams felt he was the difference between two good sides.
O’Neil’s stock has risen even further with the latest win, and pundits Stephen Warnock and Robbie Mustoe both now believe one thing about the Wolves manager…
Robbie Mustoe and Stephen Warnock think Wolves boss Gary O’Neil is in the conversation for manager of the season
After the game, O’Neil admitted that this was his favourite performance of the season.
Losing Neto and Bellegarde might well have handed the momentum to Fulham, and while the Cottagers did have their moments in the game, Wolves showed tremendous spirit and work ethic to pull out a result.
It has been a common theme for Wolves under O’Neil, and Warnock and Mustoe both reckon he ought to be in the conversation for manager of the season.
Robbie Mustoe said on The 2 Robbies podcast: “Just another nod to Gary O’Neil really. We’re thinking about managers of the season, he’s got to be in the conversation. Given the squad, the injuries, taking over late. It’s pretty remarkable what he’s doing. Talk about a bright young English manager, he’s got a big future hasn’t he?
Warnock added: “Absolutely (he’s in with a shout for manager of the season). He has (a big future) yeah and don’t forget he’s only going to improve. He’s learning all the time, he’s learning on the job in the Premier League, which is phenomenal. He’s going up against top, top managers, massively impressed with Gary O’Neil.”
O’Neil should be manager of the season if Wolves get into Europe
If Wolves secure some form of European football come the end of the campaign, then Gary O’Neil should be manager of the season.
Purely because expectations were so low at the start of the season. Julen Lopetegui walked out just a few days before the new season, and a host of top players had been sold. It left the dressing room in a confused state initially, and the potential for things to go south was really and truly there.
Everything pointed to Wolves struggling this season, and many pundits did tip Wolves to go down.
But O’Neil has come in and been a revelation, getting the players to buy into him, building a connection between the players and the fans and masterminding some remarkable results as a result of top tactics and in-game management.