Wolves fire Gary O'Neil with team in Premier League relegation zone

Wolverhampton fired manager Gary O’Neil on Sunday with the team in the Premier League’s relegation zone and having won just three games since March.

O’Neil was in charge for 16 months and his last game proved to be the 2-1 defeat to Ipswich on Saturday.

Wolves have won two league games this season and are on nine points from 16 games, putting them in 19th place and four points from safety.

Owned by Chinese investment group Fosun International, Wolves have been in the Premier League since 2018. They are looking for a fourth full-time manager since the departure in 2021 of Nuno Espirito Santo, who got the team promoted six years ago.

“We’re very grateful to Gary for all of his effort, dedication and hard work during his time at the club, and we wish him and his team the best of luck for the future,” said Wolves chairman Jeff Shi.

O’Neil had expressed his disappointment at losing the connection with Wolves’ fans after the 2-1 loss at West Ham on Monday.

He also aimed some criticism at the club’s owners for sanctioning the sale of many of its top players like Raul Jimenez and Ruben Neves over the past three transfer windows, generating 140 million pounds in profit — according to O’Neil — and not investing enough quality back in the squad.

The slide under O’Neil began at the end of last season when Wolves won just one of their last 10 league games after being knocked out of the FA Cup in the quarterfinals by second-tier Coventry.