Gary O’Neil has been sacked as Wolverhampton Wanderers manager.
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.
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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 becomes the third Premier League manager 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 as Wolves manager 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)
