Wolves have appointed Gary O’Neil as manager on a three-year contract, following Julen Lopetegui’s departure.
Lopetegui left Wolves yesterday (8 August) following a breakdown in communication with the club board, despite having kept the club up following his arrival at Molineux in November 2022.
Speaking following his departure, Lopetegui issued the following statement: “I wish Wolves and everybody at the club the very best of luck for the future, and thank them for the opportunity granted at the time to take charge of this wonderful club.
“It has been an honour to enjoy this adventure in the day-to-day company of Matt Hobbs, Matt Wild, head of player care Lisa Hollis and every single employee of the club; whom I wish to thank for their support and help at every moment.
“Also, of course, I want to thank the players, who have always given the maximum to achieve our objectives, and especially the fans that made me feel like one of them from the very first moment and have always been amazing to me, my staff and my family.”
Wolves consequently have swooped to sign O’Neil as Lopetegui’s replacement with immediate effect ahead of the club’s new league campaign, which commences on 14 August away at Manchester United live on Sky Sports.
O’Neil took charge of Bournemouth almost a year ago after Scott Parker was fired following a poor form to the season, and successfully guided the Cherries to a 15th-placed league finish only to be unexpectedly sacked in mid-June which stunned the footballing world.
The 40 year-old has consequently accepted the managerial position at Wolves with Sporting Director, Matt Hobbs “delighted” to sign “a highly motivated young coach with strong principles and very well thought of by everyone he has worked with, and we’re excited to see what we can achieve together at Wolves.”
O’Neil has signed a three-year contract which will see him take charge at Molineux until June 2026.
Hobbs also iterated that the club expects O’Neil to build upon Lopetegui’s pre-season work which saw the club avoid defeat in six friendlies.
Explaining O’Neil’s task for the season, Hobbs said: “Our players have shown their quality during pre-season, and I believe Gary and his team will continue to coach and improve them and will have success working with this group.
“Everyone at Wolves is looking forward to welcoming Gary, offering him their full support and working collaboratively to help the club to keep pushing forward together.”
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