An update on the future of Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has been provided ahead of his side’s Midlands derby with Aston Villa after a tricky start to the Premier League season.
Wolves continue poor start to the season
Midweek Carabao Cup action did nothing to lift spirits around Molineux as Gary O’Neil’s side fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of fellow Premier League side Brighton at the AMEX stadium.
It means that Wolves have won just one game so far this season, and are yet to taste success in the Premier League. A defeat against Arsenal on the opening day was followed by a thrashing at the hands of Chelsea, before they picked up their sole point of the campaign so far in a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
With games against Liverpool, Aston Villa, Man City and Brighton all in their next five games, it could prove difficult to find any sort of form between now and November, which could see them dragged into a relegation dog-fight.
Wolves’ next five Premier League games |
Aston Villa (A) |
Liverpool (H) |
Brentford (A) |
Manchester City (H) |
Brighton (A) |
O’Neil bemoaned the defeat in midweek, admitting that he was beginning to sound “like a broken record”.
“Unfortunately, I have to sit here again and talk to you about a defeat but one that probably shouldn’t have been a defeat”, the Wolves boss explained. “We made a lot of changes and the team still found a way to function, to function fairly well.
“The 3-1 sucker punch was a tough one because I think everyone in the stadium felt we were very, very much on top at the point and it feels a bit this way at the moment, which makes these chats with you guys (the media) a bit awkward because you don’t want to sound like a broken record. We did enough today to get a result out of the game and we found a way not to again, so it’s a similar theme.”
Now, an update on the manager’s future has been provided ahead of his pre match press conference on Friday, which will take place this afternoon.
Update on O’Neil’s Wolves role
That comes as GiveMeSport claim that despite the poor form, O’Neil’s job remains completely safe at Molineux. They explain that the Wolves boss is “under no pressure in terms of losing his job whatsoever”, and they add that is unlikely to change in the coming weeks either.
Given the tough fixtures ahead, they reveal that “it is likely O’Neil will be judged on games following that period of the campaign”, with the fixture list looking somewhat kinder heading into November and beyond for the Old Gold.
Reported to take home just £1.5m per year, O’Neil is one of the lowest paid managers in the Premier League, which means that should Wolves decide to pull the trigger it should not have too much impact on their finances.
For now though, they are willing to stick with the man who guided them to midtable and safety last season.
