Gary O’Neil has reportedly been dismissed as head coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers following a run of four consecutive Premier League defeats. The decision comes after Wolves’ 2-1 home loss to Ipswich Town on Saturday, which left the club languishing in 19th place with just nine points from 16 matches.
Tensions flared after the Ipswich defeat, with Rayan Ait-Nouri receiving a second yellow card at full-time and Matheus Cunha needing to be restrained. O’Neil, 41, was appointed head coach in August 2023 after Julen Lopetegui’s departure. Although he led Wolves to a 14th-place finish in his first season, the team’s current form has dragged them into a relegation battle.
The former Bournemouth manager signed a four-year contract extension with Wolves in August, but the poor results have reportedly forced the club to take decisive action.
Signs of unrest have been building within the squad. In Monday’s defeat to West Ham, Mario Lemina clashed with Jarrod Bowen after the final whistle, an incident that led to Lemina losing the captaincy.
Against Ipswich, Wolves initially went ahead through a Matt Doherty own goal, but Jack Taylor’s stoppage-time header secured a dramatic win for the visitors. After the match, O’Neil expressed his frustration with the team’s discipline.
“We deal with things like that very, very seriously, as you saw last week,” O’Neil said, referencing Lemina’s incident. “It’s frustrating because we have enough to fix on the pitch without having to manage these off-field issues. The players need to take responsibility, but I’ll do my part to help them.”
Despite his efforts to restore order and accountability, Wolves’ precarious position in the table appears to have left the club with little choice but to make a managerial change as they fight to stay in the Premier League.