Four defeats in a row and 19th place in the league. The sacking of Gary O’Neil at Wolverhampton Wanderers comes as no surprise. The course is being set for next year’s relegation battle.
The 1-2 loss in the basement duel with newly promoted Ipswich Town was the last straw: head coach Gary O’Neil is no longer the coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and his coaching team has to leave. After the fourth defeat in a row, this is a bitter but logical consequence, which is reflected in the penultimate place in the table, four points behind the safety line.
O’Neil took over the Wolves just three days before the start of the 2023/24 season and eventually brought them to the finish line with a respectable 46 points and a large gap to the relegation zone. In the current season, however, things just didn’t go well for the Wanderers: after 16 match days, Wolverhampton has only nine points on the account – only Southampton (5 points) are doing worse.
Losing streak without a big opponent
It is particularly bitter for O’Neil that there has been no real big caliber in the current losing streak: against Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham and Ipswich, the club’s management should have hoped for a lot, but instead the Wolves have zero points after the four duels and have been pushed into the relegation zone.
“We are grateful to Gary for his commitment, dedication and hard work during his time at the club. We wish him and his team good luck for the future,” Wolves managing director Jeff Shi was diplomatically quoted on the club’s website. An interim coach will probably be on the sidelines for the next crucial relegation battle with Leicester (December 22, 3 p.m.). If this game is also lost, a very difficult task of avoiding relegation awaits Wolves in the new year.