Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha has been speaking about Gary O’Neil – and recalled the moment he realised the 41-year-old was the right manager for him.
Cunha has just finished his best season ever in terms of goal involvements. He made 22 across all competitions, and silenced the doubters after his first few months at the club.
Under Julen Lopetegui, Cunha struggled a bit for Wolves and was regularly criticised for not being clinical enough.
The Brazilian was much improved in the final third in 2023/24 under Gary O’Neil though, scoring 14 goals and providing eight assists.
Cunha has admitted that he was actually worried when O’Neil first took over, because he had obviously been brought to the club by another manager in Lopetegui.
But he was quickly won over, and now Cunha has shared the moment he realised O’Neil was the manager for him…
Matheus Cunha recalls what Wolves manager Gary O’Neil did to him against Manchester United
There was plenty of skepticism when O’Neil first arrived at Wolves.
While he did a good job at keeping Bournemouth in the Premier League, most fans were not exactly blown away by his appointment, especially having just had someone with the pedigree of Lopetegui.
But concerns were eased fairly quickly, as fafns watched the team in the opening game against Manchester United.
Wolves did lose 1-0, but were by far the better team and were very unlucky not to have picked up at least a point. The visitors should have had a penalty for the challenge by Andre Onana on Sasa Kalajdzic.
Cunha was outstanding that night, but he didn’t finish the game because O’Neil took him off towards the end. For the player, this, and what happened shortly after, was the moment he knew he was in good hands.
Recalling it in an interview with the E&S, he said: “We’re always joking about this!
“One of my best games here was against United at Old Trafford and he changed me in the 77th minute.
“I started to think ‘Oh my God, this season will be hard with this coach. It’s my best game and he’s changing me, what can I do?’ We always joke about it and smile.
“After the Brighton game, I didn’t have a good reaction after two games and started to do crazy things saying training wasn’t the best and Gary came to me and said ‘I’m with you, I’m not your enemy. I know it’s hard to start a new journey with someone but I’m here to help you’.
“I’m Brazilian and a very emotional guy but I will always remember how he looked at me as more than a football player. It was more than results, he wanted to help me get to my best version.
“Everyone can see how well he has done in the job. I have an unbelievable coach that supports everyone a lot. Everything together has helped me to show everyone my best version.”
O’Neil’s management of Cunha has been brilliant
At this point, it is crystal clear how highly Cunha rates O’Neil.
The former Atletico Madrid man has constantly praised the Molineux head coach, and it sounds like the pair have a very honest relationship. And in his interview with the E&S, he also said that he has never had a better relationship with a manager than he does with O’Neil.
O’Neil has previously stated that he has ‘fascinating conversations’ with the player regarding tactics and positions. And Cunha is never shy in seeking out his manager for chats, with O’Neil saying that Cunha came to his office the morning after the 4-3 defeat to Manchester United at Molineux to discuss things about that game.
It is great to see how well they get on, and hopefully Cunha can continue thriving under O’Neil’s stewardship. The goal for the South American next season should be to make more than the 22 goal involvements he got last term.