After the Englishman’s debut season at Molineux, a significant distinction has been noted between former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui and Gary O’Neil.
Days before the 2023–24 season began, Gary O’Neil took over at Wolves, succeeding Julen Lopetegui in an attempt to maintain the Old Gold in the Premier League.
Tensions were high in the summer of 2023 as the Spaniard was unable to spend due to financial constraints and important players left for vital profit.
Because of this, Lopetegui quit before the season began with a few days to spare, leaving O’Neil to pick up the pieces because Wolves’ chances of competing in the top tier were slim.
Despite facing a roster lacking depth, the Englishman overcame the odds and led his little team to an FA Cup quarterfinal and a 14th-place finish. He also improved Lopetegui’s point total by five.
After the season concluded and the former Wolves manager was announced as West Ham’s new manager, journalist Liam Keen gave his assessment of one significant distinction between the two coaches.
Despite facing a roster lacking depth, the Englishman overcame the odds and led his little team to an FA Cup quarterfinal and a 14th-place finish. He also improved Lopetegui’s point total by five.
After the season concluded and the former Wolves manager was announced as West Ham’s new manager, journalist Liam Keen gave his assessment of one significant distinction between the two coaches.
Having said that, O’Neil’s suitability for the position was soon demonstrated by his increased form, morale, and individual performance.
Keen, however, saw a space away from the action that divides the two managers. The journalist was gushing over O’Neil’s media persona throughout the campaign when he appeared on the E&S Wolves Podcast.
Gary O’Neil has conducted himself in public during press conferences in a totally different manner than Julen Lopetegui. It hasn’t been a case of toys in the pram.
He mentioned the other day that he had encouraging talks with Jeff Shi and that, although cognizant of the circumstances, he now has greater clarity and knows what he can and cannot do.
This struck a chord with me. Keen feels O’Neil is a better fit for the Wolves position than Lopetegui, who upset people around him at Wolves by publicly expressing his frustrations over the summer’s financial difficulties before to his departure.
“He [O’Neil] also remarked, ‘I’m not the kind of person that wants it all my own way all the time,’ which I don’t think is an indictment on Lopetegui.
That, in my opinion, is a manager openly acknowledging that he wants to work for and be a part of this team. He will give and take, demand certain things while compromising on others.
The decision to fire Julen Lopetegui was the right one for Wolves. Opinions on Lopetegui are divided since, despite leaving his team so soon to the 2023–24 season opener, the Spaniard managed to keep Wolves from going down the previous season. At Christmas 2022, the Old Gold were at the bottom of the table. However, under the former Real Madrid manager, things turned around, and the team finished in 13th position. Nevertheless, O’Neil would not have joined and would not have made the required roster adjustments if Lopetegui had stayed, which would have prevented him from leading Wolves to a five-point gain in 2022–2023.
It will be intriguing to observe Lopetegui’s performance in the Premier League with West Ham the following season.
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