Wolves sacked Gary O’Neil earlier today, following a final 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
Despite being backed by Fosun publicly earlier in the week, and there being suggestions O’Neil would make it to the January transfer window, the club have finally decided to act.
Things are moving quickly, and Wolves are said to be in talks with Portuguese manager Vitor Pereira to come in next week.
Pereira is currently managing Al-Shabab over in the Saudi Pro League, and has reportedly expressed interest in the job. It seems it is now a question of when he’ll take over and not if.
It is a huge shame how it panned out for Gary O’Neil in the end.
Certainly, at the start of the year, it all looked so promising under him. But for several reasons, it hasn’t worked out.
We’ve heard even until the very end that the players still really liked and respected O’Neil – and Matheus Cunha certainly seems to fall into that category.
Matheus Cunha gives 12-word reaction after Wolves sack Gary O’Neil
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Brazilian striker #10 Matheus Cunha (R) talks with Wolverhampton Wanderers' English head coach Gary O'Neil (C) during the ...
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
He may have scored in the game, but Cunha didn’t cover himself in any glory yesterday with his behaviour against Ipswich Town.
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Cunha is now facing a ban for the altercation he got involved in after the full-time whistle, and fans are worried the FA could really throw the book at him.
Arguably, Cunha was one of O’Neil’s biggest success stories during his time as Wolves manager.
Cunha O'Neil
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He helped the Brazilian enjoy his best-ever season in 2023/24, and it was clear the pair had a great relationship.
Tonight Cunha has reacted to the news of O’Neil’s sacking by the club, writing on Instagram: “I will always be grateful for our time together. Thank you gaffa.”
Cunha’s words are telling
It’s clear from Cunha’s message that he personally had a great relationship with O’Neil.
O’Neil always spoke abut Cunha very warmly during his time at the club, and vice-versa.
Matheus Cunha under Gary O’Neil at Wolves
Appearances – 53
Minutes played – 4135
Goals – 22
Assists – 11
Wolves fans saw how inconsistent Cunha was in a Wolves shirt when he first arrived at the club under Julen Lopetegui.
The Spaniard found it really hard to get the best out of him, but O’Neil – as poor as things got under him at the end – certainly got Cunha to thrive.
His work with Cunha – and also a number of other players – does go to show that O’Neil is far from a bad manager, and hopefully, he can bounce back from this setback.
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