After the highs of last season, not many would imagine that a comparison between Gary O’Neil and Dean Saunders could be formed at Wolves.
The 2023/24 campaign was one of encouragement at Molineux, as O’Neil arrived on a mission to get the squad he inherited from Julen Lopetegui firing again.
Wolves were the lowest scorers in the Premier League in 2022/23, giving O’Neil a clear task to get to work on improving the quality of football on show at the club.
The Englishman did just that as Wolves recorded a five-point and 19-goal improvement by the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
O’Neil earned the full support of the club as a result of his hard work over his first season however, his second term hasn’t started so brightly.
Concern over Gary O’Neil’s comments after defeat to Brighton
Having played six games in all competitions in 2024/25, Wolves have recorded just one win, coming against Burnley in the Carabao Cup.
The Old Gold have since exited the competition, losing to Brighton most recently at the Amex to continue their dreary form.
Wolves remained on theme as there were plenty of positives to take from the performance although, early frailties ultimately cost them the game.
The issue came after the game, as O’Neil spoke highly of his squad in the press conference, something that wasn’t best received after another poor result.
Following the defeat, the manager said:
“If you go through the odds that go out before matches, I would guess we’ve been second favourite in all of them so far, and we probably will be for the next few as well.
“So, we are having to fight against the odds at the minute in the games, we’re doing enough in them to give ourselves a chance of taking results and falling a little bit short.”
The boss’ assessment is right as Wolves play Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brentford and Manchester City next although, his acknowledgement of the challenges ahead aren’t the real issue.
Wolves comparison between Dean Saunders and O’Neil
O’Neil’s comments after the fixture may be somewhat familiar to Wolves fans, who have heard a similar statement before in undesirable circumstances.
The Englishman isn’t the first Wolves manager to take inspiration from the odds against the Old Gold, as Dean Saunders so memorably did back in 2013.
Saunders was named manager that January and in February, shared a bizarre view of his squad’s position with regard to possible relegation from the Championship, via BirminghamLive.
“Another thing that has pleased me is in Ladbrokes, we’re not one of the three favourites to get relegated and they don’t normally get it wrong,” Saunders said with confidence.
“They have looked at our squad and thought ‘they will get out of it’ and that’s what I’m thinking. I’ve never been sacked before and I will not be sacked here.”
Saunders was of course sacked three months later as Wolves were relegated to League One having won five of the 20 fixtures he oversaw.
While O’Neil is far from being in Saunders’ position, it’s impossible to ignore the similarities between the two manager’s assessments of their squads.
The bottom line is that while O’Neil is a very good manager and a great fit for Wolves, results are not being seen, with excuses at this moment not sufficient for supporters, who aren’t seeing enough over 90 minutes from their team.