Gary O’Neil has been appointed as manager at Ipswich Town on a three-year contract.
O’Neil’s appointment sees him return to the Premier League after an 18-month absence following his sacking at Wolverhampton Wanderers in December 2024.
The 43 year-old manager returned to management in France with Strasbourg in January and led the Ligue 1 club to eighth in the table, as they missed out on UEFA Conference League qualification to Monaco by just one point.
His performances however led Ipswich to consider him the ideal candidate to lead them into their second Premier League campaign in three seasons, following Kieran McKenna’s shock decision to stand down earlier this month.
O’Neil was subsequently appointed on a three-year contract until June 2029 following successful negotiations over compensation between Ipswich and Strasbourg.
“It is an honour to be appointed Manager of this great football club,” explained O’Neil to itfc.co.uk as he spoke of the opportunity to lead the Tractor Boys in the top flight.
“I have followed the progress the club has made over the last few years closely and to now have the opportunity to lead Ipswich Town in the Premier League is something I am hugely excited by.
“There is a strong vision and ambition at this club and I am fully aware of the responsibility that brings, given how much it means to its supporters and to the community of Ipswich and Suffolk.
“We all know the challenge ahead as we prepare for the season together and I’m excited to meet everyone and get to work.”
Ipswich Chairman, Mark Ashton added that he is “delighted” to appoint O’Neil who he believes will extract improvement out of the current squad.
“He is highly motivated, highly regarded, has an incredible attention to detail and tactical knowledge and is an excellent coach with a real track record of improving players.
“Despite being just a few years into his managerial career, he has already shown he knows what is required to succeed in the Premier League at both Bournemouth and Wolves, while also leading Strasbourg to a European semi-final last season.
“He brings a hunger and desire to succeed at the top level of the game and, with the full support of everyone at the club, I am excited to see what we can achieve together.”
Having began his career as an assistant manager at Liverpool’s Under-23s level, O’Neil joined Bournemouth as a first-team coach in February 2021, and went on to become their manager in August 2022 in a season which saw him guide them to Premier League safety.
He subsequently was unexpectedly sacked in June 2023 but was hired by Wolves just two months later, and led the Old Gold to 14th in the top flight but was sacked 16 months later following a run of two wins in their first 16 matches that season which left them second bottom.
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