Gary O’Neil has been sacked as Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach.
The 41-year-old only signed a new four-year deal with the club in August after an impressive first season at Molineux but Saturday’s defeat against Ipswich Town — an 11th of the 2024-25 campaign — left them 19th in the table, four points from safety.
The 2-1 home reverse — sealed by a 94th minute winner from Jack Taylor — comes five days after the 2-1 defeat at West Ham United on Monday. In 16 Premier League games they have now conceded 40 goals.
Both those defeats were also marred by ugly post-match incidents with Mario Lemina clashing with his own team-mates and first-team coach Shaun Derry at the London Stadium before Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait Nouri also reacted angrily following the final whistle in Saturday’s game.
Lemina was subsequently stripped of the captaincy in what O’Neil called a mutual decision with Nelson Semedo instead handed the armband.
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Saturday’s result means Wolves have picked up just three wins and 14 points across their last 25 league matches — a run of form that began in March.
O’Neil has steadfastly defended his players throughout his 16-month reign but pulled no punches after the game in his criticism after yet more poor defending for both goals.
“The first goal is unacceptable for Premier League level. Liam Delap did that a lot when he played under-18s against kids that were 2ft smaller than him, when he looked like he was playing two years up, bashing people out of the way and running through,” he said.
“But that’s not acceptable to concede that goal at Premier League level. Liam Delap won’t score that goal against any other Premier League team.
“So that’s two areas we’re really struggling with and both are really related to physicality and being able to cope with physicality in our defending areas.”
9 & 40 – Wolves’ nine points and 40 goals conceded are their worst tallies 16 games into a top-flight season since 1983-84 (7 points, 40 conceded), when they suffered the first of three consecutive relegations to the fourth tier. Ominous. pic.twitter.com/9PbFlrpX1m
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 15, 2024
O’Neil becomes the third Premier League boss to lose his job this season after Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag in October and Steve Cooper exited Leicester City in November.
The former midfielder, who made 214 Premier League appearances during his playing career, replaced Julen Lopetegui in the summer of 2023 after a stint in charge of Bournemouth.
In his first season with Wolves, he led the side to a 14th-placed finish, recording victories over eventual champions Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. He also guided Wolves to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Wolves are next in action away at Leicester on Saturday.
(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
