Gary O’Neil set to reject Manchester United’s interest | OneFootball

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil is set to reject an approach by Manchester United to join the coaching staff at Old Trafford.

As explained in greater detail here, INEOS – who assumed full control over the sporting operation at United last month – were keen on “opening talks” with the 40 year old coach over a “potential switch”.

While it was not detailed exactly what role O’Neil would be assuming were he to accept these advances, talkSPORT revealed it was “mooted to be a coaching role”, rather than as a direct replacement for current manager Erik ten Hag. This means the switch would essentially amount to a “demotion”, despite the difference in stature of United and Wolves as clubs. As such, talkSPORT contends O’Neil would be “highly unlikely” to accept the proposal.

The 40-year-old manager’s standing within English football has sky-rocketed in the last eighteen months.

Having previously worked as the manager of the U-23 squad at Liverpool, O’Neil was appointed as the senior first-team coach at Bournemouth under Jonathan Woodgate. He then kept this role after Scott Parker replaced Woodgate, helping the Cherries gain promotion in the 2021/22 season.

At the beginning of the 2022/23 season, Parker was sacked by Bournemouth after a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool, describing the team as “ill-equipped” for the demands of the Premier League as he departed.

O’Neil was handed the reigns as an interim manager in Parker’s place, before being offered the role permanently with an 18-month contract after an improved run of form. Despite the difficult task and the negativity surrounding the newly-promoted side, O’Neil led Bournemouth to an impressive 15th placed finish – five points clear of the relegation zone.

Rather bizarrely, the executive structure at the Vitality Stadium decided to replace O’Neil with Andoni Iraola – the manager of Rayo Vallecano in Liga. While Iraola is highly-rated within Spanish football, it was a surprise decision given how well O’Neil had performed in difficult circumstances.

The 40-year-old Englishman did not remain out of the dugout for long, however.

Wolves offered O’Neil the opportunity to repeat his Bournemouth heroics at Molineux just before the beginning of the season, after Julen Lopetegui’s surprise resignation as manager of the Midlands club. Lotepegui was believed to have been targeting a top-half finish for Wolves this year, but did not believe it possible, owing to a lack of investment and ambition from the club’s owners.

Wolves turned to O’Neil to steady a ship on the verge of sinking this year – a similar experience to his one the previous year at Bournemouth – with the manager taking charge just a few days before the season’s opener.

The opponent? Manchester United. The performance O’Neil’s side produced at Old Trafford was extremely impressive, outplaying Ten Hag’s side for large parts of the game. Though they would end up losing 1-0, they deserved far more; and it offered a template for success this season.

The fact Wolves sit currently 9th in the table, while Bournemouth are languished in 13th, validates O’Neil’s quality as a manager on multiple fronts. And it’s this back-to-back success, across two different clubs in equally trying circumstances, which will have impressed officials at Old Trafford.

O’Neil has quickly grown beyond the role of an assistant, however, meaning INEOS will have to continue looking elsewhere this summer.

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