O’Neil pulls out of running for shock Wolves return

After making a shocking comeback to the club, Gary O’Neil has decided to step down as manager of Wolves.

11 months after being fired, the 42-year-old had been a contender for a surprise comeback in Vitor Pereira’s place.

O’Neil has since withdrawn from the process, according to sources who told BBC Sport. A significant portion of the agreement has been reached.

As Wolves continue to talk with a number of other candidates, Erik ten Hag, who was fired by Bayer Leverkusen in September after just three games in charge, is of interest to them.

O’Neil is still receiving money from the club in accordance with his 12-month severance package, which expired in December.

O’Neil and Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards were named as potential replacements for Pereira at Molineux, according to a report from BBC Sport from Sunday.

After Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Fulham left them eight points off the safety line and bottom of the Premier League, Pereira was fired on Sunday. He took O’Neil’s place in December.

Given his current position at Middlesbrough, Edwards’ position would present some challenges, with Boro believing to be entitled to a sizable salary.

After leading Wolves for two games in 2016, Edwards distanced himself from the position and said he was a former Wolves Under-23 coach. He also served as first-team coach.

He claimed that his daughter informed him yesterday that it was [Sunday], so that probably indicates where I stand on it.

“You may be aware of my ties to the club, but my main focus is on this job, which is fantastic, and trying to turn things around with a big game against Leicester,” I said.

It’s difficult for me to comment on anything else that hasn’t been done well so far, aside from Middlesbrough, which is where my focus is.

In Nuno Espirito Santo, Bruno Lage, and Pereira, Wolves have a history of appointing managers who have close ties to famous agent Jorge Mendes.

According to what we know, Wolves were speaking with at least one manager from Mendes’ stable in addition to O’Neil.

By Nick Mashiter

The 42-year-old could have returned, and sources close to O’Neil told BBC Sport he would not have considered making a comeback at the start of the year.

O’Neil’s mind had clearly changed before his decision to withdraw from the process after 11 months of missing work due to Liam Manning’s summer job in Norwich.

In an effort to find the right role, he has changed agents this year.

Sources also expressed concern about how it would operate if executive chairman Jeff Shi and former sporting director Matt Hobbs almost had previously served as a liaison.

Shi claimed that Wolves did not fire O’Neil early last season.

Hobbs left Al-Shabab in the summer, moving in as director of football in June with Domenico Teti, who previously worked for Vitor Pereira in Saudi Arabia.

Nelson Semedo, Rayan Ait-Nouri, and Matheus Cunha, who O’Neil rated and rated Wolves’ best last season, have all left.

Under O’Neil, Wolves continued to struggle with them and lost any of their opening 10 games last season. This is a statistic that Wolves have kept coming up with this year.