Steve Bull drops bold Gary O’Neil demand that Wolves fans will disagree with.
Gary O’Neil saved his skin with a vital victory over Southampton before the international break as Wolves climbed off the bottom of the table.
Some Matheus Cunha brilliance helped Wolves ease past the Saints at Molineux.
Despite previously stating that Wolves hadn’t reached must-win territory, Gary O’Neil knew the importance of this game, and his players turned up to the occasion.
It will never be known whether the manager would have been axed if the Old Gold were beaten by Southampton but what we do know is – Wolves fans still want O’Neil sacked.
The statistics back up that claim too, as the Wanderers have the worst defence in the Premier League and are currently two points from safety.
Position Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff Points
Wolves
11 1 3 7 16 27 -11 6
Not everyone agrees with the stance of sacking O’Neil, though, and Steve Bull is one of them.
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Steve Bull urges Wolves to stick by Gary O’Neil
O’Neil’s time at Molineux has quickly unravelled into a bit of a nightmare but it wasn’t long ago that many were tipping the manager for great things.
Many were impressed with his tactics and man management, with Gary Lineker previously predicting O’Neil to become a ‘special’ English coach in March.
Now, eight months later and with Wolves sitting second bottom of the Premier League, the hype surrounding the 41-year-old has died down a bit.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Manager Gary O’Neil during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at…
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
That said, Lineker and Alan Shearer have urged the Wolves board to stick by O’Neil and so has Molineux legend Steve Bull, who thinks he should be given a chance to see what he can do in January.
Bull said in his E&S column: “I still believe Wolves should stick by Gary O’Neil and see what he can do in January.
“He can only play with the cards he’s been dealt and he’s had plenty taken away from him with no replacements.
“You can tell the players are fighting for the manager and the club. If they weren’t it would be very obvious and that would be a problem!”
Bull raises a great point that the players are still fighting for the manager, though that doesn’t change the situation he finds himself in.
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November and December pivotal for O’Neil’s future
In the first few months of the season, O’Neil had the inferiority excuse to fall back on, as he claimed the sides Wolves played were all better.
The Old Gold suffered defeats against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Now, after beating Southampton, there are further winnable fixtures on the horizon, including clashes against Fulham, Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich and Leicester in their next six.
Wolves then play host to Manchester United on Boxing Day before heading south to Tottenham three days later.
The upcoming six fixtures therefore hold huge importance for O’Neil’s future, as failure to at least win a couple of those games could see them end up in the Premier League’s bottom three on Christmas Day.
In that scenario surely the Wolves board would pull the trigger and finally sack O’Neil.
