Gary O’Neil has undoubtedly improved many players at Wolves since he came in last year – and that doesn’t just refer to the work he does with them on the training pitch.
O’Neil is coming up to his one-year anniversary at Molineux.
The 41-year-old arrived at the club just days before the 2023/24 season, and his appointment had a lot of people worried at the time.
Julen Lopetegui was a big-name manager with a lot of pedigree, and he had walked out over concerns about the club’s financial position.
But O’Neil would eventually get the fans onside, and ultimately he guided the club to 14th in the Premier League table.
It was notable that he got a tune out of practically every player in the squad.
But so much of what he achieved last season is actually down to getting things right behind the scenes, and one interesting report has been published this morning about the culture at Wolves.
Gary O’Neil ‘asks every player to shake hands with one another’ after ‘mentality test’
It is safe to say that O’Neil is a very holistic coach.
The former Bournemouth manager looks at the whole picture, and is always looking for those marginal gains.
One thing he feels is very important is having a cohesive dressing room. There has been a real focus at Wolves in recent times on creating a healthy culture, and an environment where everyone really gets on.
Things became fractured during the latter stages of Nuno Espirito Santo and Bruno Lage’s tenure, and things needed to change.
Together with sporting director Matt Hobbs, O’Neil has succeeded, and you can now really see the togetherness of the players.
The Athletic have published an interesting report this morning, after sending journalist Adam Crafton to the US to cast his eye over the club’s pre-season.
It is reported that the dynamics were ‘revealing’. Apparently, at the end of a ‘mentality test, O’Neil asked every player to shake hands with one another, ‘recognising that tensions can heighten during training’. He reminds everyone that they are all on the same team.
The mentality test is actually an energy-sapping drill that sees O’Neil divide his group into four teams of four outfield players, with two goalkeepers remaining in their goals for the entire session. They compete in a 30-by-20-metre area in three-minute cycles.
So one team stays on for the entire three minutes and the other three teams come on fresh for a minute each.
The Athletic add that, while there were natural cliques on the tour, it was encouraging to see captain Mario Lemina deep in conversation with returning loanee Luke Cundle, and Matheus Cunha taking time to chat to 16-year-old Luke Rawlings.
Wolves in a healthy place
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It is safe to say that the Wolves dressing room is in an extremely good way heading into this new season.
Of course, the public are only ever going to be told about the good things. But occasionally at clubs, there are things that do come out to suggest all isn’t well. But there has been absolutely nothing but positivity regarding Wolves for a while now.
It is clear to see the players love working under O’Neil. Joao Gomes spoke of his huge respect for him recently, and he just seems to have struck the perfect balance of being very demanding and actually fun to work under.
Ushering in this new culture is something that could help Wolves to soar, and it may well be that a push for European football is possible for 2024/25.