It would be oddly but grimly fitting were tonight’s game at West Ham United Gary O’Neil’s last as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
For O’Neil, the trip brings him face to face with a club he used to play for and the manager who preceded him at Molineux, Julen Lopetegui, who is also fighting to keep his job.
Tonight’s venue, the London Stadium, was also the scene of the final game for Bruno Lage, the man who sat in the Wolves hotseat before Lopetegui.
So the signs for O’Neil are not good. Here are how things stand ahead of a fixture that’s been dubbed ‘El Sackico’.
How at risk is O’Neil?
To put it bluntly, his position is close to being untenable. The Wolves boss is the definition of a manager on the brink.
Wolves, like most modern football clubs, undergo a constant process of assessing and monitoring possible future managers as part of due diligence and succession planning, just in case a manager loses his way and is sacked or exceeds expectations and is poached.
But around the time of Wolves’ first win of the season, 2-0 against Southampton on November 9, that process became more active, with the club discreetly sounding out possible replacements for O’Neil.
Those in charge at Molineux were still convinced that the former Bournemouth boss is a rising talent of the coaching world — a view they believe is supported by what he achieved last season in steering Wolves clear of any relegation battle despite taking over on the eve of the opening game and following a turbulent summer.
But results had become so bad that a change appeared to be the only sensible option.
The outcome of those tentative discussions combined with Wolves’ back-to-back victories over Southampton and Fulham meant O’Neil remained in position, but the chastening defeats at home to Bournemouth and at Everton, with four goals conceded on each occasion, have left O’Neil looking unable to turn the situation around.
Defeat at West Ham would almost certainly force Wolves’ hand and even a positive result might not guarantee his position for the weekend’s home game against Ipswich if the discussions going on in the background bear fruit.
O’Neil’s only narrow route out of trouble might be if his side does well this evening and Wolves are not entirely convinced by any of the possible candidates who are willing to take over. In that instance, they might conclude he has bought a bit more time from them to assess their options.
What is O’Neil’s response?
The Wolves boss has pledged to fight on for as long as he remains in the job, but there was a clear change in tone when he held his pre-match press conference on Thursday to preview the return to his former club.
While not admitting defeat, O’Neil’s comments seemed almost valedictory as he reflected on his 16 months in charge at Molineux.
“I came in at what felt like a tough time and I probably wasn’t the most popular of appointments, with the man that I replaced and the clubs and nations that he’d managed, and maybe the part of the journey that I was in.
“But for the fanbase to unite with the playing group and push us and help us the way they did last season, it will always be one of my most fond memories throughout my whole career — playing and managerial — because there were some special moments there.
“We had to dig deep and we found ways to put some incredible results on the board and we were never in danger of being in a relegation fight.
“We were a hair away from going to Wembley all with these challenges that we faced — financial challenges and trying to plug some holes that had been left from before.
“It was a special season for me. Of course, this one’s been difficult and I fully understand their concerns and their criticism of the results and their criticism of the goals that we’re conceding. But I do guarantee that we’re doing everything we can with the group that we have to give it the best possible chance.”
What can he do to save his job?
O’Neil has been at pains in recent press conferences to point out that he has almost exhausted his options when it comes to how to use his squad.
However, he then insisted ahead of this game that he still had some options to explore as he strives for the kind of form he produced in his first season at Molineux.
Pablo Sarabia is hoping to be back from injury and could get a chance to show his big-game temperament. But otherwise, O’Neil will be faced with decisions that have become all too familiar. Does he start with two or three centre-backs? Which combination of midfielders gives him the best chance of success?
In goal, it seems almost impossible that Jose Sa will retain his place after conceding eight goals in his last two outings and contributing to several of them with individual errors.
“We’ve changed style a few times and we change personnel regularly,” said O’Neil. “We are searching every possible solution, but what I believe my team should be like is fairly low down on the list of importance at this moment. It’s about results and giving this group the best chance to get them.
“I know some managers may be different and decide to stick with exactly what they think, but the start of the season maybe showed that, with the players that we were able to recruit, we needed to change what we were trying to do.
“There are always things you can do better, but it can be easy from the outside to think that the answers are the ones that you haven’t seen yet.
“Really, we’ve seen everything now. Of course, you can try to blend it and you can try to change your style… but the answer is just within the group and the power of the group together.”
(Top photo: Gary O’Neil after losing 4-0 to Everton; by Alex Livesey via Getty Images)
