Wolves come into the game following damaging defeats to Everton and Bournemouth, which has led many to criticise the leaders in a squad that has sold their captain in each of the last three seasons.
But O'Neil - who is under increasing pressure for his job - says his young side will need those experienced players to help them get out of relegation trouble.
"We are a young group in terms of Premier League experience," O'Neil said when asked if his team has enough leaders.
"Hee-chan comes under some criticism when I put him on the pitch at the moment, but when you look at Premier League calibre, he's one of the ones that has that on our bench and he was our top goalscorer last year.