Gary O’Neil’s Wolves departure is beginning to feel inevitable amid the Old Gold’s terrible run of form.
O’Neil’s record at Wolves makes him one of the worst to lead the club at Molineux, with all fingers pointing at dismissal.
That being said, the Englishman remains at the helm following his side’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham, a fixture branded ‘El Sackico’.
Wolves plan to replace O’Neil in the near future but understand the importance of hiring smartly to avoid a repeat of events.
Gary O’Neil’s post-match comments vs West Ham
Upon reviewing O’Neil’s managerial record against West Ham, it’s fair to say that the Old Gold didn’t stand a chance against the Hammers.
Still, Wolves put up a fight and did their best to get a result at the London Stadium, with O’Neil’s pride in his players made clear in his post-match comments.
O’Neil took aim at Fosun’s transfer methods at Wolves, hinting that he’s in somewhat of an impossible position trying to get the Midlands side competing in the top flight.
“When I arrived at this football club, they’d just collected 39 points in the Premier League. Since that moment, we’ve managed to make £200 million in player sales; we’ve sold an awful lot of Premier League players, an awful lot,” O’Neil said.
“If you go back to [Ruben] Neves, [Joao] Moutinho, [Daniel] Podence, [Adama] Traore, [Raul] Jimenez, [Diego] Costa, Nathan Collins, Pedro Neto, Max Kilman.
“We’re now not shopping in that market, we’re trying to find ones that can help the club in the future and maybe give us a little bit now. But as I’ve found in the Premier League, it’s a ruthless league, and we’re doing everything we can to get up to speed but we are being tested.”
While fans have lost trust in O’Neil for what’s been seen on the pitch from Wolves over the past few months, some offered sympathy for the challenge the boss faces with the board.
Wolves fans show sympathy for O’Neil
Reacting to O’Neil’s subtle jab at Fosun, fans gathered on X to express their dissatisfaction with the owners.
“Don’t half feel for him. He’s spot-on with everything he says. A lot of the blame falls on Fosun and the horrid running of this club,” one supporter said in support of O’Neil.
Another agreed, “That interview really made me realise how awfully run we are. Really feel for O’Neil.”
One Wolves fan claimed that the manager has been ‘set up to fail’, which was a feeling shared by many despite O’Neil not being the most loved figure in the fanbase.
“Sadly all the fans screaming for his dismissal just play into Fosun’s hands really – he makes a convenient scapegoat to cover up their manifest failings,” a concerned fan said.
O’Neil is suffering just as Julen Lopetegui, Bruno Lage and even Nuno Espirito Santo did at Wolves, prompting a supporter to take a trip down memory lane to visit Fosun’s shortcomings.
“How many managers are going to say the same thing about Fosun?” The fan said.
“Nuno complained, Lage got left to dry, Lopetegui left because he hated them and now O’Neil is saying the same. They are the biggest problem at this football club and we are going down if they stay in charge.”
There’s a slim chance of a way back for O’Neil at Wolves, however, the understanding that the boss has been let down by Fosun has injected some sympathy into the manager’s dire situation.