Wolves boss made stunning revelation in a Premier League video earlier this year
O'Neil's job at Molineux is under threat after a dismal start to the current campaign
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By TUM BALOGUN
Published: 07:13 EST, 7 December 2024 | Updated: 07:13 EST, 7 December 2024
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has revealed that he consumes a staggering 20 cups of tea every day.
The embattled coach was among a number of Premier League managers who shed light on their drinking habits in a video produced by the league's media department believed to have been conducted before the start of the season.
O'Neil, who is clinging on to his job at Molineux after a dismal start to the campaign, admitted to getting through an extraordinary amount of tea daily and revealed that he makes the majority himself.
'I have a lot of tea, probably 20, I would say,' the 41-year-old replied when asked how about his routine. 'Yeah, I drink a lot of tea a day.
'I tend to make them myself. The staff sometimes offer but generally I make themselves myself. I like a cup of tea when we're in the office, when I've finished work, last thing before I go to bed.'
More conventional levels of consumption were given by O'Neil's contemporaries, including Mikel Arteta, who claimed to get through around 'three coffees and one or two teas'.
Gary O'Neil has revealed that he consumes around 20 cups of tea every day and claimed to make the majority himself
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner and West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said 'too much' when asked about the number of hot drinks they take each day, while Bournemouth head coach Andoni Irola insisted he is trying to reduce his consumption.
Indeed, the Spaniard claimed to have been motivated to change his ways after discovering it's 'not good, health-wise'.
While no great attention is given to the health impacts of this subject, a recent international study of more than 25,000 people found that drinking more than four cups of coffee per day increased the risk of stroke by nearly 40 percent.
Meanwhile, the same amount of tea slashed the risk by almost one-fifth.
In the study, published in July in the International Journal of Stroke, researchers recruited 26,950 adults from 32 countries, including the UK and Canada, about half of whom had survived a stroke in the past few days.
The team found that drinking four or more cups of coffee per day raised the risk of stroke by 37 percent. However, drinking the same amount of any kind of tea lowered the risk by 19 percent.
Black teas, which include Earl Grey and Breakfast teas, had the lowest overall risk of stroke at 29 percent, while green tea led to a 27 percent reduced risk.
There was no link between drinking three or fewer cups of coffee and stroke.
Experts have long debated whether coffee or tea has more health benefits. However, a new study suggests that coffee may raise the risk of stroke, while tea lowers it
Ange Postecoglou said that he can spend up to an hour on a single cup of coffee, depending on what it is
Further revelations came from the likes of Tottenham manager Postecoglou, who revealed that he can be quite content with a single coffee depending on what it is.
Alluding to his Mediterranean heritage, he said: 'If I have what the Greeks call a Freddo cappuccino, I could be on that for an hour or so. I learned in Greece you take your time.'
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca claimed to get through 'four or five coffees' in a presumably edgy five-hour morning and Everton boss Sean Dyche said his beverage of choice is a black coffee with sweetener.
O'Neil, like his colleagues, operates in one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. The strain is magnified during periods currently experienced by the Englishman, whose team are 19th in the Premier League with just two wins from their first 14 matches.
The poor run continued on Wednesday with a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Everton and sees the former midfielder's job hanging by a thread ahead of a huge clash against West Ham and fellow under-fire manager Lopetegui.
On Thursday, Mail Sport revealed that Wolvesare actively sounding out replacements for O’Neil and are believed to have held tentative conversations with Graham Potter last month.
Even though Wolves managed to claim wins over Southampton and Fulham in November, as well as drawing with Brighton and Crystal Palace, O’Neil’s stock plummeted again as his side conceded eight goals in two games to Bournemouth and the Toffees.
Mail Sport understands the hierarchy have been assessing potential new managers since before the November international break and it is thought there were initial discussions with Potter.
O'Neil is facing the sack at Wolves after a dismal start to the season that sees the club sat in 19th place
Like Potter, David Moyes was sounded out by Leicester before they appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy and given the 61-year-old’s track record, he would be an attractive option for Wolves. Yet Moyes was not convinced by the Leicester role and he may feel the same way about the job at Molineux too.
Though O’Neil and his staff were handed improved four-year contracts last summer, the compensation package is thought to be roughly the same as would have been the case under the original three-year deal the 41-year-old signed when replacing Lopetegui in August 2023.
Wolves’ form fell away badly in the second half of last season amid an injury crisis and captain Max Kilman was sold to West Ham during the summer, while Pedro Neto – the club’s best attacking player – moved to Chelsea.
Those sales generated about £100m but Wolves failed to sign the Premier League-quality centre-back O’Neil wanted and Neto’s effective replacement, Rodrigo Gomes, has not been deemed ready to start regularly by O’Neil.