Wolverhampton Wanderers have sacked Gary O’Neil after 16 months in charge following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Ipswich Town.
That result left the club 19th and four points from safety in the Premier League, with 17th-placed Crystal Palace also having a game in hand.
Boos rained down on Wolves at the final whistle, with Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri both involved in separate scuffles.
It came just days after Mario Lemina clashed with Jarrod Bowen at the end of Monday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham, which led to him losing the captaincy.
O’Neil had survived that game, dubbed “El Sackico” with Julen Lopetegui also under mounting scrutiny, but the Wolves boss has now paid the price for a run of just two victories from 16 league games this season.
Wolves have also conceded 40 goals, more than any other side in the top flight.
Pressure is now on the Fosun Group to make a quick appointment who can drag Wolves out of trouble.
One outside option is Robbie Keane, who The i Paper understands has been involved in coaching the academy of late, with his son involved in the youth set-up.
Keane is available having left his most recent role with Maccabi Tel Aviv in June after guiding them to the Israeli Premier League title.
Pedro Martins also continues to be monitored by a number of Premier League clubs, largely due to a successful spell with Olympiacos in Greece, though he has fallen off the radar slightly since moving to Al-Gharafa in Qatar.
Sergio Conceicao, another Portuguese, is open to a new role after stepping down from a hugely successful stint at Porto – in which he won 11 trophies – in June.
Then there are the usual suspects like Graham Potter and Steve Cooper.
Potter has been out of work since his sacking from Chelsea after less than seven months in April 2023, while Cooper was axed by Leicester in November.
Yet whoever takes charge faces an uphill battle to keep Wolves up. O’Neil arguably did so against the odds last season and saw his side weakened by the departures of Pedro Neto to Chelsea and Max Kilman to West Ham in the summer.
from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/Xn5JjPs
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