O'Neil: Atmosphere On the Opening Day Surpassed My Expectations
Friday, 28th Aug 2026 16:13
Blues boss Gary O’Neil says the atmosphere at Portman Road as Town beat Sunderland 2-1 in his opening competitive game in charge of the club last weekend surpassed his expectations.
Goals from Emersonn and Jack Clarke saw the Blues to three points in their opening fixture on their return to the Premier League and in O’Neil’s first match since his appointment in June.
“I’d been building up to what that day was going to feel like for me personally, and it surpassed what I was expecting,” he said.
“I knew it would be a special atmosphere and I expected the fans to be right with us and right behind us.
“They worked really hard last year as a whole football club to get back to this level and I knew there would be an anticipation and a real energy.
“You could feel that as soon as I walked out of the tunnel at the start of the game, you could feel that there was more than 11 of us pushing for that victory.
“I really enjoyed it and we need to make sure that stays with us because on the first day of the season to produce that energy is one thing, but to be able to carry it week to week, to keep the fans connected to what we're doing is going to be really, really important.
“I'm sure they know, but if they don't, I'll tell them again, they are a huge reason that we won that football match. For the lads to put the work in that they did, to have had to suffer in spells of the game as well, like you do at Premier League level, for the fans to have stuck with us and to still be pushing us in the 89th minute is the reason we won the game, they were right with us.
“So we're going to need them. They're really, really important to us. I can say I'm looking forward to taking probably a smaller number of them to Old Trafford, but as many as we can squeeze in, I'm sure, and see if we can do something.”
O’Neil was asked whether he is surprised at how quickly the team has gelled, despite a summer of upheaval in which 13 players have been recruited.
“I think it's important not to get carried away,” he continued. “We've won a football match. We need to win a lot of football matches to be successful. It was a fantastic start for us, no doubt.
“It took the football club a long time the last time it was at this level to win a game \[the first win at Spurs came in the 11th fixture\], so it's important to get one on the board early and to settle everyone down.
“But also important that nobody gets carried away. It's the Premier League and there's going to be some big tests. We go to Manchester United and Liverpool in the space of six days and that's going to test any newly promoted side.
“We feel like we're well equipped. We feel like we've done well in the transfer window. We feel like we've used pre-season well.
“So we're going to give ourselves the best opportunity in every game, but it's still going to be a test for us.
“Man United away. If anyone's thinking that it's going to be easy and we're just going to go there and play some lovely football, we’re going to have to go there and we're going to have to scrap and fight and give everything we've got.
“I'm sure we'll have an incredible following from the fanbase that comes up there. And we're just going to fight for every ball, in every duel, to try and give them something to remember again.”
O’Neil says the team spirit which has been very evident over the last week, despite all the ins and outs, has been heartening.
“It is,” he reflected. But it will be tested. It will be tested. It's sunny, you guys are all here still in T-shirts, we’ve won two games, we won the last few games in pre-season, we’ve just signed a World Cup winner. This is one of the easier chats that we'll have. The Premier League will test us this season, it will provide challenges.
“But the work to prepare the group for all of that is already being done. While there's no getting carried away in there, the lads don't think we've achieved anything, they know that we're preparing for the toughest league in the world.
“They know that we have a real chance to do something and we're just working away. We're going to stay really focused on ourselves and what we do.
“But let's not take away the excitement of going to Old Trafford and the opportunity to win a football match at a historic place, and to go six points from six would be a great start for us.”
_Photo: TWTD_