Gary O’Neil has today responded to the surprise claim this morning that he had been interviewed for the Liverpool job, and also gave an update about his future.
There was real shock on social media earlier today when it was claimed that the Reds had been in contact with the Wolves manager about succeeding Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season. From both Liverpool and Wolves fans.
The 40-year-old has done an outstanding job so far at Molineux.
O’Neil had said previously that he is ‘unavailable’ for other jobs. But he recently spoke about his frustrations about the size of the squad, and how he had voiced his concerns to the board.
That worried some people, but the general feeling about O’Neil has been that he is very into the Wolves project and would never ‘pull a Julen Lopetegui‘.
It was reported earlier that O’Neil is ‘not under consideration’ by Liverpool – and there has actually been word from the man himself today…
Gary O’Neil says he hasn’t spoken with Liverpool, and that he hasn’t had talks with Wolves about a new contract
O’Neil spoke to the media today ahead of Wolves’ game with Bournemouth on Wednesday.
He provided updates on a few players, but was also asked about the story linking him with Liverpool.
His response is likely to please some. He said (as quoted by Nathan Judah): “It’s obviously an honour to be linked with Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world. But I have not spoken to them or any club – my focus is 100% on Wolves.
“There have not really been Wolves talks, a lot of things to discuss in summer.”
It was recently reported that Wolves were keen to reward O’Neil for the work he has done so far with a new contract, and that they were looking to open talks with the 40-year-old.
Gary O’Neil happy at Wolves, at least publicly
It was certainly a very bold claim this morning that O’Neil was interviewed by Liverpool.
At the moment, O’Neil seems fairly happy at Wolves considering the challenging situation he currently finds himself in with the injuries.
He’s got players who are still trying to run through brick walls for him, and the fans adore what he has done so far and have totally bought into him.
He did have that little gripe recently about squad size and how he was concerned about burning the players out.
Hopefully, he is not more annoyed about that situation behind the scenes.
‘A lot of things to discuss in the summer’ is an interesting line, and suggests that he will be waiting to see what level of backing he gets before committing to a new contract, which you can’t really blame him for.
He’s a great manager, but he could be even better if he was given the right tools by the owners.