Shay Given hailed Gary O’Neil on Match of the Day 2 last night – but pointed something out that many Wolves fans will be loathed to consider.
Wolves moved up to eighth in the Premier League table on Sunday, beating Sheffield United 1-0 at Molineux.
It was a solid first-half display from Wanderers, with the ‘excellent’ Pablo Sarabia scoring with a fine header, but the standards completely dropped in the second for some reason.
That was disappointing, but ultimately all that matters is the result and Gary O’Neil is giving supporters a reason to dream. The hunt for European football is now well and truly on, which was something that was out of the question when he first arrived.
O’Neil has shone – and Given reckons he will have drawn attention to himself…
Shay Given suggests other clubs could want Gary O’Neil as he drops ‘shop window’ verdict
Given appeared on last night’s Match of the Day 2 to analyse the game between Wolves and Sheffield United.
It was not a particularly great game. The quality from both sides in the second-half was virtually non-existent, and Molineux was certainly anxious as Sheffield United sought an equaliser.
But thankfully it never came, and we are now talking about an 11th Wolves league win of the season – as many as in the whole of last season.
Given, like most Wolves fans, has been blown away by the job O’Neil has done, but he feels like his work could soon attract attention. He said: “It’s unbelievable and you think about the summer they had as well. I think he had three or four days to prepare for the Premier League. I just wrote some names down, Nunes, Neves, Collins, Coady, Jimenez – they had to sell all them to balance the books. So the job he’s done under such restraints and Financial Fair Play is just phenomenal.
“He’s really put himself in the shop window – I know the Wolves fans watching are probably thinking ‘Why is he saying that?’ but he’s done a brilliant job. He’s a really exciting young manager.”
O’Neil will soon be a wanted man
With what O’Neil has achieved at Wolves in such a short space of time and with limited resources, there is little doubt that there will be clubs out there ready to try and swoop for the 40-year-old. Some probably already have him on their radar.
But fans would like to hope if a big club came calling that O’Neil would show loyalty and stay put.
What he’s done at the club goes beyond just picking up more points than expected.
He has united the dressing room where there are now unprecedented levels of team spirit, cohesion and togetherness and he has built an incredibly strong connection between the fans and the players.
Additionally, he always speaks extremely well, and the football on show has been great to watch.