GARY O’NEIL has dismissed claims of a bust-up with Unai Emery after the two refused to shake hands.
Wolves and Aston Villa couldn’t be separated on Sunday as Pau Torres cancelled out Hwang Hee-chan’s opener.
Wolves star Mario Lemina saw red late on for two yellow card offences in a heated derby game.
And the action spilled over onto the sidelines as the benches clashed before bosses O’Neil and Emery shunned the usual post-match pleasantries.
O’Neil, however, insists there was no issue with his Spanish rival.
Asked about the incident, he explained: “It was a lot of nothing, I was moaning at the fourth [official] about playing 114 minutes and Unai didn’t want to wait for the handshake so he went to walk down the tunnel. I just said: ‘No problem, go down the tunnel’.
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“I’ve waited ages for people (managers in the past), I understand that they want to talk with the fourth official.
“My conversation with the fourth official was about eight seconds long so he wouldn’t have had to wait very long. But I understand if he doesn’t want to, no problem. I’ve got no problem with Unai at all.
“I thought we edged it 11 v 11, apart from the start but a point is fairish I’d suggest. We looked comfortable, there wasn’t a huge gap between the sides.
“Eight points is not a bad return, we’re managing to score goals and trying to improve.”
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The derby draw allowed Wolves to extend their unbeaten record against Villa to six games in the Premier League.
Villa will no doubt be disappointed with the result as victory would have taken them into the top four after an impressive start to the season.
The result was a positive one for Wolves, allowing them to build on the good result last time out with a 2-1 win against City.
Unai Emery said after the game : “It’s a derby and we felt it on the pitch. There are a lot of supporters with us, they are pushing, it was a great atmosphere.”
He also closed his post-game interview by saying that the non-handshake with O’Neil was “nothing”.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
