Gareth Southgate resigned as England manager earlier this week – and a slightly uncomfortable claim has now been made about Wolves manager Gary O’Neil.
Southgate stepped down after eight years at the helm, following the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
England lost 2-1 in Berlin.
Runners-up is a good achievement on the face of it. But many feel as though England stumbled their way to the final and saw their luck finally run out against a great side.
Southgate has decided to call it a day, and the search is now on for a new man to lead the Three Lions.
The usual names have been thrown into the hat by the media. Eddie Howe has probably been the most mentioned, and Graham Potter has also had a few shouts.
But what about Gary O’Neil‘s chances? A brief line has been offered by one outlet this morning.
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has ‘admirers’ within the FA
It has been claimed by talkSPORT that Wolves manager O’Neil does actually have some admirers within the FA at the moment.
The bulk of their article is about Eddie Howe, and how he would consider an offer from the FA if one was made.
But it also suggested that Wolves manager O’Neil ‘is thought to have admirers’.
That is the extent of it and at the moment, there does not appear to be a great deal of interest in him to be the next England manager.
O’Neil has done terrific work at Wolves since coming in just days before the start of last season.
He took over from Julen Lopetegui having not got the chance to work with the players in pre-season, and guided the club to a 14th-placed finish in the Premier League. He also took Wolves to an FA Cup quarter-final.
O’Neil was praised for getting Wolves to play attacking football, and he might have finished much higher than 14th in the table had the standard of officiating not been so bad, and had he not got so unlucky with injuries to key players.
O’Neil would have more England manager shouts if not for Wolves’ back luck in 2023/24
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In a way, it was a good thing that Wolves ultimately finished 14th in the Premier League.
Had Wolves actually finished higher up and secured European football, it’s possible there would now be a lot more speculation about him regarding the England job.
Currently, there does not seem to be any real chance of him succeeding Southgate.
He may have admirers in the FA, but seemingly Howe is the favourite to take over.
Wolves fans will be delighted that it is all quiet regarding O’Neil. Because he has done fantastic work at the club so far and he has potential to do special things at Molineux.
Thankfully, he seems very happy at Wolves. Back in March, he reassured the fanbase he wasn’t going anywhere amid speculation about his future, and he does not seem like the type to walk away from something he is clearly very passionate about so soon.
With the right backing this summer, and he’s had a good level of it so far, European football could well be a possibility. Matt Hobbs has already said this will be the objective.