Wolves sack manager Gary O'Neil after Ipswich loss

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan and manager Gary O'Neil celebrate after a match against Brentford at Brentford Community Stadium in London on Dec. 27, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP] Wolverhampton Wanderers sacked manager Gary O’Neil on Sunday in the wake of a 2-1 loss to fellow relegation contenders Ipswich that ended with violent clashes after the final whistle. O’Neil and his entire backroom staff depart the club, despite Chairman Jeff Shi saying just three days earlier that Wolves is “united” behind the English manager. Related ArticleHwang Hee-chan on for 60 seconds in Wolves 4-1 win over FulhamWolves bag first Premier League season win without Hwang Hee-chanWolves reportedly eyeing 17-year-old Daejeon midfielder Yun Do-yong O’Neil’s departure brings more upheaval to a dressing room that is clearly already very unsettled. Over the past week, Wolves have seen Mario Lemina stripped of the captain’s armband following an altercation with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, Rayan Ait-Nouri shown a red in the tunnel after Saturday’s loss to Ipswich and Matheus Cunha likely to face punishment for appearing to either punch or steal the glasses off a member of Ipswich’s security staff. Wolverhampton Wanderers' players confront their West Ham counterparts at the end of a Premier League match at the London Stadium in London on Dec. 9. [AFP/YONHAP] Those incidents combined with a season-long poor run — Wolves have won just two games this season and now sit in 19th with just nine points — paint a very clear picture of a manager that had lost control of the squad. For Korean midfielder Hwang Hee-chan, O’Neil’s departure is not necessarily a bad thing. Hwang has been largely sidelined by O’Neil this season, starting just one game and spending the majority of the last two months stuck firmly to the bench, replaced by the younger legs of Jorgen Strand Larsen. It’s a dramatic drop off for Hwang, who scored 12 goals and had three assists last season, starting 26 games and at one point sitting comfortably within the Premier League top 10 goal scorers. By this point last year, Hwang had appeared in every game and had started all but two of them. O’Neil was the third manager Hwang has played under since joining Wolves in the summer of 2021, initially on loan and then later as a permanent fixture. He started his career in the Black Country under Portuguese manager Bruno Lage but dropped into a long slump in the 2022-23 season. Lage was replaced in October by Spanish manager Julen Lopetegui, who slowly coaxed Hwang back to form but was replaced the following summer by O’Neil. Hwang saw the best season of his Premier League career under O’Neil last year, only to be followed by his worst under O’Neil this year. That mimics the situation of the club — Wolves had been happy with a 14th-place finish last season and a lot less happy with a real relegation battle already on the cards this campaign. Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan reacts during a Premier League match against Liverpool at the Molineux in Wolverhampton, England on Sept. 28. [AFP/YONHAP] Wolves are now reportedly in talks with another Portuguese possibility: Veteran gaffer Vitor Pereira. Pereira, currently at Saudi club Al Shabab, is reportedly interested in a move to Molineux, according to The Athletic. Pereira would bring a diverse wealth of experience to Wolves, although none of it in the Premier League. A former midfielder, Pereira has been managing top-tier teams since he took the helm at Porto in 2011. He has gone on to manage a range of clubs in Europe including Olympiacos, Fenerbahce and Corinthians, as well as further afield like Al Ahle, Al Shabab and Shanghai SIPG. If Pereira does take the Wolves job, he will face a difficult challenge. The new manager will need to reshape the squad into a team that can still look competitive on a Premier League pitch while also dealing with some very obvious emotional problems. Ait-Nouri, Cunha and Lemina should be the backbone of the Wolves squad but have been at the heart of the issue over the last few weeks. Restoring some emotional equilibrium to the dressing room will be the first priority. Whoever takes the helm will have to do all that against the backdrop of some tough fixtures. Wolves face Leicester City on Sunday, before shifting up a gear to face Manchester United on Dec. 26 and Tottenham Hotspur to round out the year on Dec. 30. The Spurs game is usually a big ticket match for Korean fans, known as the Premier League’s Korean derby. How much of a Korean derby it will actually be will depend on how much the new manager chooses to use Hwang. As of press time Monday, Wolves are yet to announce a caretaker manager. BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]

Wolves sack manager Gary O'Neil after Ipswich loss Published: 16 Dec. 2024, 08:35 JIM BULLEY [email protected] Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan and manager Gary O'Neil celebrate after a match against Brentford at Brentford Community Stadium in London on Dec. 27, 2023.

[REUTERS/YONHAP] Wolverhampton Wanderers sacked manager Gary O’Neil on Sunday in the wake of a 2-1 loss to fellow relegation contenders Ipswich that ended with violent clashes after the final whistle. O’Neil and his entire backroom staff depart the club, despite Chairman Jeff Shi saying just three days earlier that Wolves is “united” behind the English manager. Related Article Hwang Hee-chan on for 60 seconds in Wolves 4-1 win over Fulham Wolves bag first Premier League season win without Hwang Hee-chan Wolves reportedly eyeing 17-year-old Daejeon midfielder Yun Do-yong O’Neil’s departure brings more upheaval to a dressing room that is clearly already very unsettled.

Over the past week, Wolves have seen Mario Lemina stripped of the captain’s armband following an altercation with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, Rayan Ait-Nouri shown a red in the tunnel after Saturday’s loss to Ipswich and Matheus Cunha likely to face punishment for appearing to either punch or steal the glasses off a member of Ipswich’s security staff. Wolverhampton Wanderers' players confront their West Ham counterparts at the end of a Premier League match at the London Stadium in London on Dec. 9.

[AFP/YONHAP] Those incidents combined with a season-long poor run — Wolves have won just two games this season and now sit in 19th with just nine points — paint a very clear picture of a manager that had lost control of the squad. For Korean midfielder Hwang Hee-chan, O’Neil’s departure is not necessarily a bad thing. Hwang has been largely sidelined by O’Neil this season, starting just one game and spending the majority of the last two months stuck firmly to the bench, replaced by the younger legs of Jorgen Strand Larsen.

It’s a dramatic drop off for Hwang, who scored 12 goals and had three assists last season, starting 26 games and at one point sitting comfortably within the Premier League top 10 goal scorers. By this point last year, Hwang had appeared in every game and had started all but two of them. O’Neil was the third manager Hwang has played under since joining Wolves in the summer of 2021, initially on loan and then later as a permanent fixture.

He started his career in the Black Country under Portuguese manager Bruno Lage but dropped into a long slump in the 2022-23 season. Lage was replaced in October by Spanish manager Julen Lopetegui, who slowly coaxed Hwang back to form but was replaced the following summer by O’Neil. Hwang saw the best season of his Premier League career under O’Neil last year, only to be followed by his worst under O’Neil this year.

That mimics the situation of the club — Wolves had been happy with a 14th-place finish last season and a lot less happy with a real relegation battle already on the cards this campaign. Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan reacts during a Premier League match against Liverpool at the Molineux in Wolverhampton, England on Sept. 28.

[AFP/YONHAP] Wolves are now reportedly in talks with another Portuguese possibility: Veteran gaffer Vitor Pereira. Pereira, currently at Saudi club Al Shabab, is reportedly interested in a move to Molineux, according to The Athletic. Pereira would bring a diverse wealth of experience to Wolves, although none of it in the Premier League.

A former midfielder, Pereira has been managing top-tier teams since he took the helm at Porto in 2011. He has gone on to manage a range of clubs in Europe including Olympiacos, Fenerbahce and Corinthians, as well as further afield like Al Ahle, Al Shabab and Shanghai SIPG. If Pereira does take the Wolves job, he will face a difficult challenge.

The new manager will need to reshape the squad into a team that can still look competitive on a Premier League pitch while also dealing with some very obvious emotional problems. Ait-Nouri, Cunha and Lemina should be the backbone of the Wolves squad but have been at the heart of the issue over the last few weeks. Restoring some emotional equilibrium to the dressing room will be the first priority.

Whoever takes the helm will have to do all that against the backdrop of some tough fixtures. Wolves face Leicester City on Sunday, before shifting up a gear to face Manchester United on Dec. 26 and Tottenham Hotspur to round out the year on Dec.

30. The Spurs game is usually a big ticket match for Korean fans, known as the Premier League’s Korean derby. How much of a Korean derby it will actually be will depend on how much the new manager chooses to use Hwang.

As of press time Monday, Wolves are yet to announce a caretaker manager. BY JIM BULLEY [ [email protected] ] var admarutag = admarutag || {} admarutag.cmd = admarutag.

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