Source: TheGuardian
Gary O’Neil is deservedly back in conversation for manager of the season
Wolves boss has turned club around, with his attention to detail leading to high-profile wins and progress in the FA CupWhen Gary O’Neil was approaching the back end of his playing career he juggled performing in the Premier League with making birdies on the back nine as a scratch golfer. In 2012, he had come up short in his attempt to make the cut for the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes, one of Tiger Woods’s favourite courses, and former teammates recall O’Neil flicking through golf magazines in pursuit of perfection, scouring pages for tips to put into practice at the London Club, in Kent, his local at the time. In his spare time he competed in professional tournaments and grew obsessed with the Masters.It all speaks to his determination to achieve in whatever he does. Last summer O’Neil was sacked by Bournemouth, 37 games into his first job, despite retaining the club’s top-flight status and, while that decision stung, he arrived at Wolves hungry to prove himself as an elite coach at a club where Julen Lopetegui had lost the appetite for the challenge. Now, for the second time in 12 or so months, O’Neil is deservedly in the conversation for the manager of the season, with Wolves a point off seventh before visiting Newcastle on Saturday. Then there is the prospect of a Wembley semi-final, if they overcome Coventry in the FA Cup. What was supposed to be a miserable season is shaping up rather nicely. Continue reading......read full article
