Many Wolves fans were left stunned last night, as a report emerged about Manchester United wanting to talk to Gary O’Neil, but not about becoming their next manager…
It has been suggested that United are looking to speak with O’Neil about forming a new coaching team, as new owners INEOS seek to put their stamp on the club.
Gary O’Neil, who replaced Julen Lopetegui just days before the start of this season, has earned rave reviews for what he has done in eight months at Molineux, taking Wolves up to ninth place in the Premier League table and to an FA Cup quarter-final.
He has only recently started coming in for plaudits for the job he is doing, with plenty of pundits having been left to eat their words.
The report about United comes as a real surprise, mainly because of the potential role that is being suggested – and if the claims are true that this is Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plan, then it is totally disrespectful…
Gary O’Neil is now a proven Premier League manager and is far better than any coaching role, amid new Manchester United claim
The report that emerged last night from ESPN has predictably prompted quite a big response from both sets of supporters.
The response has largely been negative.
From a Wolves perspective, if it is true that INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe would like to speak to O’Neil about becoming a part of a coaching team, then that is embarrassing on their part.
O’Neil has worked wonders since becoming the head coach at Molineux on August 9.
Expectations were on the floor when he walked in just a few days before that first Premier League game of the season against United at Old Trafford.
But amid all the chaos, he took his players to the Theatre of Dreams and Wolves were easily the better team than night, with O’Neil tactically outwitting Erik ten Hag. The United players couldn’t get near their Wolves counterparts and although the Red Devils won 1-0, everyone knows that was a huge injustice, especially after Wolves were denied a clear penalty for the challenge by Andre Onana on Sasa Kalajzic.
O’Neil currently has Wolves sitting in ninth place in the league table, and has claimed amazing wins over the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur (twice) and Chelsea this season. He’s also fixed the major goalscoring issues Wolves have had for years – this term, Wolves have hit 42 in the Premier League with 10 games to go. Last season, they finished on 31.
He has been doing it all, having watched the club sell a plethora of top stars last summer – including captain Ruben Neves – before he came in.
The club’s concerning financial predicament meant he could not bring in high-calibre reinforcements to replace the lost quality, and it was the same story in January.
And O’Neil – who Micah Richards recently said has done a ‘staggering’ and ‘brilliant’ job at Molineux – has had to deal with so many injury issues of late, with his main attacking trio of Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto having all been out of action recently.
United plan is disrespectful if true
Simply put, O’Neil is way above any coaching role – even if it’s one at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
He’s a top manager who has improved so many players already, and his brilliance goes beyond just tactics.
The humble 40-year-old has shown time and time again this season that he is a fantastic communicator, and an actual manager of issues.
He rightly sanctioned the banishment of Jonny Castro Otto after an appalling training ground incident, and also handled when Matheus Nunes went on strike really well.
Wolves were a fractured club after all the departures last summer, including Lopetegui. But O’Neil has come in and not only steadied the ship, but set an exciting new course.
United would be lucky to have someone like him as their actual manager, not some coach playing second fiddle to a main man. He is a main man, who won’t be entertaining any talks about a position that would clearly be a step down for him.