Gary O’Neil was primed to return to Wolves for a second spell as manager, but has dramatically withdrawn from the process
O’Neil was in pole position to land the job at Wolves following the sacking of Vitor Pereira on Sunday morning.
The Wolves hierarchy decided the Portuguese had reached the point of no return, and informed him of the decision on Sunday morning, following the dismal 3-0 defeat to Fulham on Saturday.
Pereira is said to regret not walking away from Wolves at the start of the season after he had concerns about the quality of the squad.
But he stayed, and oversaw what has been the sorriest of seasons.
Molineux News understood Gary O’Neil was all set to return, but there has now been a dramatic twist.
Gary O’Neil couldn’t agree working conditions for Wolves return
The reaction to O’Neil’s impending appointment had been very negative.
Many Wolves fans still remember how much the team struggled at the end of his tenure, and that was with arguably a better squad.
This would have been a huge challenge for O’Neil to go back in, and would certainly have been a highly questionable decision from the owners at best.
Journalist Ben Jacobs appeared on talkSPORT this morning (just after 10am, 03/11) to talk about O’Neil, and gave a few interesting details regarding Wolves’ move for him.
He said: “Gary O’Neil was called directly before Vitor Pereira was sacked. And as a consequence we know he’s in the frame. If he does so (go back), the expectation is that Shaun Derry would join him as well.
“It’s going to be whether or not O’Neil is somebody that Wolves feel can not only get them out of trouble, but if the parties were also to agree something longer term.
“My understanding is that O’Neil will not return to Wolves if the only offer on the table is ‘Come and get us out of trouble’, and it’s a one-year deal until the end of the season.
“So a little bit like Sean Dyche when he took the job at Nottingham Forest, it would not progress with Gary O’Neil unless it’s longer term than only between now and the end of the season.”
But in the last moments, it has been reported that O’Neil has now sensationally withdrawn from the process.
David Ornstein reports in The Athletic that O’Neil did not feel the time was right to return, after talks
And Molineux News‘ transfer expert Graeme Bailey adds that O’Neil simply couldn’t agree working conditions to return in the end.
- READ MORE: Two winners and two losers as Gary O’Neil tipped for Wolves return, including Joao Gomes and Andre
O’Neil return would have been most extraordinary decision of Fosun’s tenure at Wolves
Fosun have made many questionable decisions during their time owning Wolves.
But reappointing O’Neil would surely have been the most extraordinary.
Wolves are in a world of trouble right now after Pereira oversaw a terrible start.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 15 |  EvertonEverton | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 11 |
| 16 |  LeedsLeeds | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 17 | -8 | 11 |
| 17 |  BurnleyBurnley | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 |  West HamWest Ham | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 7 |
| 19 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 6 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 22 | -15 | 2 |
There’s actually so much football still left to play though. Wolves were seemingly ready to go back to O’Neil, a man whose team last season – which was better than the current – just could not keep the ball out of their net.
When he left, things weren’t quite as bad as they are now. But the mood was certainly extremely low and Wolves had so many issues, which were thankfully dealt with by Pereira.
But it now looks like O’Neil will not make a return, despite looking very likely at one stage, which will please a lot of people.