Wolves to offer Gary O’Neil new contract – and he could be manager of the year

Wolves are set to offer Gary O’Neil a new contract after an excellent season in which he has emerged as a contender for manager of the year.

O’Neil is expected to start negotiations over a long-term deal towards the end of the campaign, with the club’s hierarchy to include an improved salary and significant buy-out clause.

The former midfielder has guided Wolves to an FA Cup quarter-final and opened up the prospect of European football next season after seven months in charge at Molineux.

After a difficult summer, Wolves supporters were fearing a relegation battle after the departure of Julen Lopetegui and an exodus of players totalling over £140 million.

Yet O’Neil, 40, has made a huge impact in only his second managerial job and faces Fulham this weekend with a European place in his sights.

Wolves’ sporting director Matt Hobbs has confirmed that talks over a new deal are to start soon, replacing the current terms which run to 2026.

‘I saw him linked to the England job’

Hobbs also admitted that O’Neil’s work will have put him on the radar of rival clubs.

“That [the contract] is naturally where this is going, he’s done well enough to have that conversation,” he said.

“It is an inevitable situation we find ourselves in the summer, for sure.

“I saw him linked to the England job. I get it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if clubs were looking at him. We have been doing work for the last year to have a replacement ready if he goes.

“Brighton have done it brilliantly over the last few years. We will be doing work on other head coaches, not because we want Gary to leave, but because that is the prudent thing to do.”

It was towards the beginning of August when Wolves first met O’Neil, as it became clear that Lopetegui was not prepared to continue.

Immediately, Hobbs spotted something “special”. O’Neil staged a three-hour presentation in London, producing a highly-detailed breakdown of his plans and style of play.

In that presentation, he also outlined his work at previous club Bournemouth, who controversially sacked him in June. He highlighted his management of individual players, and how he would improve them at Wolves.

Another aspect which impressed Hobbs was O’Neil’s vision for the future, and how he would transition over the next two to three years.

“It’s about opportunity and a bit of belief in someone,” says Hobbs. “Gary was frustrated after what happened at Bournemouth and I think he felt it was unjust, but that’s football and it happens.

“He’s got that personality. He took up golf and ended up as a plus-four golfer. Everything he does, he does to his absolute best.”

Hobbs held talks with many former players and coaches, and received a glowing recommendation from Michael Edwards, the ex-Liverpool sporting director.

Edwards and O’Neil’s association stretches way back to 2003 at Portsmouth. Edwards was a performance analyst and O’Neil was still playing. Yet even then, O’Neil started taking greater interest in the emerging forces of data and statistics.

When he retired in 2019, management was always the target. His first coaching job was an under-9s team in Beckenham.

O’Neil studied for his Uefa Pro-License under the guidance of the Irish Football Association: also on the course were former Canada manager John Herdman, Stiliyan Petrov and Hibernian’s head coach Nick Montgomery.

The connection with Edwards continued, and he was given the job at Liverpool’s academy working with the under-23s.

Six months later he was appointed to Bournemouth’s backroom team before then taking the No 1 job after the sacking of Scott Parker. Relegation was avoided after five wins in seven matches, but he was dismissed shortly after the season’s end in a brutal 6am phone call.

When he was appointed at Wolves, there was some initial negativity but it soon became clear that he meant business.

‘Gary has given me more confidence’

Pedro Neto, one of Wolves’s stars of the season, says O’Neil made an instant impact, easing the tension immediately after Lopetegui’s shock exit.

“We lost a lot of players over the summer and at the beginning it was difficult and, I’m not going to lie, the players who stayed were like ‘hmm, OK’,” he says.

“When Lopetegui left, I was like ‘who’s coming next’ and a few days after Gary arrived, the changing room was not worried.

“He’s a manager who says to the players that he is behind them. A player that has confidence is a different player: I always had it but Gary has given me even more.”

It was the 2-1 win over Manchester City on Sep 30 which arguably kick-started O’Neil’s tenure.

At the time, he described it as his greatest win in management, and he got his tactics spot on against the Treble winners.

Switching to a back-three, with two wing-backs, O’Neil deployed Craig Dawson to man-mark Erling Haaland, while Toti performed a similar job on Phil Foden.

Matheus Cunha’s role was also crucial, allowing Wolves to make the transition from a defensive block to attack, screening the pivot in City midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

Other notable victories and tactically shrewd performances have followed, which include doing the double over Tottenham and Chelsea. In those away games the foundations were built on strong defensive organisation and a high press.

Wolves insiders point to the fact that O’Neil has achieved so much without a full pre-season, so there is already a buzz about the next campaign.

He improves players, and wants them to be adaptable in their positions. He does lots of work at home watching clips to find solutions for his squad.

His door is always open to them, and he likes to keep in contact with the players away from the training ground. When Mario Lemina’s father passed away in December, O’Neil instructed him to have as much time off as he needed.

A boost for English football

Pablo Sarabia, the £4.5 million signing from Paris St-Germain, was unhappy towards the end of last year with his lack of game-time and made his frustration public on Instagram.

O’Neil used Sarabia’s disappointment as a positive and held talks with the winger about where he could make more of an impact in games.

With Wolves still hopeful of a top-eight finish, O’Neil’s reputation continues to rise. He will point to the backing of his coaching staff, while the move to re-appoint Phil Hayward as head of high performance is regarded as a significant coup.

Yet it is the football obsessive O’Neil who has transformed Wolves’ culture. He is frequently spotted on his laptop while on the train from his Kent home to Wolverhampton, and never stops thinking about the next challenge.

At a time when other former players of his generation have struggled in the technical area, such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, O’Neil’s impact is a boost for English football.

A future England manager? It cannot be ruled out.

“Gary’s attention to detail and work ethic is incredible,” says Hobbs. “He is unbelievably meticulous. When we met him, we thought there might be something special about him. He has not done anything to get away from that.”