FORMER Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil has been appointed as the new manager of Wolves.
The announcement comes after the club made the shock decision to part ways with manager Julen Lopetegui last night.
O’Neil guided the Cherries to safety last season after taking over from Scott Parker last August.
But he was surprisingly sacked by the Cherries in June and replaced by Spanish manager Andoni Iraola with new Bournemouth chairman Bill Foley wanting to play a more attacking brand of football.
O’Neil will join Wolves on a three year deal and will look first and foremost to guarantee the club’s Premier League status this season.
Wolves’ sporting director Matt Hobbs said in a statement following O’Neil’s confirmation: “We’re delighted to welcome Gary to the club. He’s 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.
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“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.”
Lopetegui left the club after “differences of opinion” between him and the board going into the new season.
The club are operating under financial constraints this season owing to FFP regulations and that led to considerable tension between Lopetegui and the ownership.
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The club have so far only signed former player Matt Doherty and third-choice goalkeeper Tom King – both on free transfers.
To make matters worse, the club also lost talisman Ruben Neves in a £40million deal to Saudi side Al-Hilal.
Nathan Collins joined Brentford for £23million and the club also lost Raul Jimenez and Conor Coady.
Lopetegui’s appointment was considered a coup when he took the job in November of last year.
The former Spain and Real Madrid manager comfortably guided Wolves to a 13th place finish, accruing 41 points along the way.
Lopetegui publicly voiced his displeasure at Wolves’ squad exodus in July, saying that he and sporting director Matt Hobbs viewed the summer’s business as a “big disappointment”.
In a statement regarding Lopetegui’s departure, the club said: “Talks have been ongoing in recent weeks, held with the utmost respect and cordiality, affording the club time and space to begin work on finding a successor, while also ensuring that Julen and his backroom staff could continue their planned preparation to ensure the playing squad would be in the best possible condition for the start of the Premier League season.”
O’Neil will face a baptism of fire in his first game in charge, with the club facing Manchester United away on Monday evening.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
