Gary O’Neil ‘really pleased’ to sign new Wolves contract ahead of Premier League opener at Arsenal

Wolverhampton Wanderers have rewarded head coach Gary O’Neil for a superb maiden campaign by handing him a new four-year contract.

O’Neil, 41, took charge of the Molineux outfit last August, replacing Julen Lopetegui, before guiding them to 14th in the Premier League and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

He signs his contract extension on the anniversary of his arrival at Wolves and with the new season just a week away.

“I’m really pleased,” said O’Neil, who has also managed at Bournemouth.

“Me and (Wolves sporting director) Matt (Hobbs) started discussing it towards the latter part of last season, but there was a lot of things going on and we thought it was best to keep ploughing on with the important stuff like the team, making sure we were in a good spot, and when the time arrived to discuss it, it was fairly straightforward from my point of view.

“I’m absolutely loving my time here, really enjoying it, my staff love it, my family love it, so it’s felt a really special place for us over the past year and I’m looking forward to continuing the journey.”

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O’Neil will take charge of Wolves’ final friendly, against LaLiga side Rayo Vallecano at Molineux on Saturday, prior to their opening clash of the league season against Arsenal at the Emirates.

O’Neil’s extension came on the same day it emerged winger Pedro Neto was set to leave the club to join Chelsea in a deal worth £54million.

“With basically every pundit in the world, we were always nominated for one of the favourites to go down,” added O’Neil as he reflected on his first season at Wolves.

“I’m sure certain people will think the same this year, where they’ll think we’ve lost our captain (Max Kilman has joined West Ham) and not signed loads of players, so I’d guess people will start to write us off again this year and it makes the group stronger.

“The belief inside the dressing room is huge, we’ve made some really good changes in there which have helped us around mentality and how we work on things.

“I’m really looking forward to the season. There’ll be challenges of course, like there always is in a Premier League season, but I’m looking forward to trying to take it on from last year.”

O’Neil’s backroom staff, including assistant head coach Tim Jenkins, have also signed deals to remain with the club until 2028.

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