Gary O'Neil signs new Wolves contract - Liam Keen and Nathan Judah analysis
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00:00Hello, I'm Nathan Judah. I'm delighted to be joined by Wolverhampton Wonders reporter,
00:13it is Mr Liam Key. Liam, feels like such a long time since I saw you last. It is like
00:20London buses, two impromptu videos within the space of an hour. And this one, well look,
00:27it's always disappointing when you lose your best player, but you can understand it.
00:32What we definitely have for you now is some very good news.
00:37Absolutely, that left the floor open to me straight away.
00:40The floor is yours mate, my friend, you can go anywhere with it.
00:44Yes, no surprise, but nonetheless good news that Gary O'Neill and his coaching staff have all
00:52signed new contracts until 2028. So they're fresh four-year contracts, but two-year extensions on
00:59the deals that they signed this time last year. It's a big opportunity for Gary to manage this
01:07great football club and to come in and under difficult circumstances. And they did an excellent
01:13job last year. We spoke to Matt Hobbs roughly around March time, I believe it was. And he said
01:17that, look, it's going to happen. He's going to get a new contract. We're going to have those
01:20talks. We've been waiting for those talks to be concluded, to be finalised. And here they are.
01:25We've got pictures of Gary O'Neill and Matt Hobbs. He's signing his contract. I'm sure he'll be
01:31delighted because it will include a pay rise, a bit more security, all of the things that Gary
01:36and his coaches deserve really for the job that they've done. And we're also keeping a hold of
01:41an up-and-coming young English manager who's done a fantastic job. It's a win-win all round.
01:47Yeah, an up-and-coming young English manager. Exactly right, Liam. And someone who
01:51has been linked tentatively with a lot of big jobs. I mean, you look at a few months ago and
01:56before slot came in, there were talks about, there were a few rumours about Liverpool,
02:00about Manchester United, even England. And we had Gary O'Neill on the podcast last week,
02:05was it? It was probably last week. And we asked him about his future, about his contract. And
02:10he was very open. He said that it's something that he'd like to get done, something that he
02:14was confident getting done. But he's got a lot of things that he's balancing at this moment in time.
02:18So he obviously got back. He's got back from America. They've sorted it out. And I think the
02:24majority of fans, if not 95%, 100% will be delighted about this deal because he's very
02:31good for this football club, especially the way that they're going, the way that they're signing
02:36players, the restraints that they've got, the relationship with Matt Hobbs, the relationship
02:39he got with the fans last year. He thoroughly enjoys this challenge, as you can say, as he's
02:44told us. And I think that this could, this is probably one of Wolves' best signings of the window.
02:51Yeah. And look, Wolves fans are a very passionate bunch. It's not easy to win Wolves fans around,
02:56but when you do, they're with you. And Gary and his team did that relatively quickly,
03:01quickly last season. It was, they needed some big wins. Man City, one obviously is the one
03:05that stands out and that sort of gave them the momentum carrying through into the rest of the
03:08campaign. But to have created that sort of bond with the fans, bring the players and the fans
03:15together was really quite important at the time. Despite some challenges earlier in the summer and
03:21despite losing Max Kilman, about to lose Pedro Neto, but also bringing three signings in,
03:26they've been able to continue that as well. Tomorrow at Rio Vallecano, I think it will be
03:32a good opportunity for fans to give Gary more appreciation and vice versa as well.
03:37It's been a situation that's almost been a perfect storm, really. You've got a manager
03:41who's taken a big opportunity and deserves to be rewarded for it. And then I just want to pick out
03:47as well, some of Jeff Shee's quotes in the announcement, because I think they're quite
03:53telling really. He describes Gary as a key member of the team, maybe even the most important member.
03:58So, very high praise and goes on to say, and I will read it verbatim very quickly.
04:03He works very hard and is very humble. He might be the humblest manager I've ever worked with
04:07and one of the most hardworking coaches I've ever met. His strengths are around his tactics and his
04:12chemistry with the players. I think that says everything you need to know and sort of sums up
04:16really what we've been discussing in this video. I think Jeff Shee speaks very well there on the
04:22strengths and qualities that Gary brings to this team. He's been able to bring everyone together
04:27and now going through into a new campaign, it feels like the perfect time to sign a fresh contract.
04:32Yeah, Jeff Shee talks a lot about the strengths, tactics, relationship with the players,
04:36also the relationship with the fans, which I think is integral and the way that he's won
04:38them over, like you say. He signed a three-year deal when he came in, obviously under improved
04:44terms now. He was entering the second year of that three-year deal. So, in essence, it's an
04:47extra two years on top of that. Now, Wolves going forward, things can change very quickly with Wolves
04:53and fans, but I think that you've almost gone over the top now. We know this is a difficult
04:57first six games. We know that Wolves may not have the points that they want to after the first six
05:02games. Hopefully, they can spring a couple of surprises, but realistically, it is a difficult
05:07first set of fixtures. But at the same time, Wolves are looking long-term out there with
05:10Gary O'Neill. This isn't three-game run or a six-game run or an eight-game run where they
05:14might be struggling for points, struggling for momentum. They want him for the long term.
05:19And I think in terms of protecting themselves as well and Gary O'Neill, if he does do well,
05:25Gary O'Neill is going to be talked about. They've appointed an England interim manager at this
05:29moment in time. There will be bigger jobs that come up. And if Wolves do do well, if Gary O'Neill
05:33continues to succeed, there will be people who will come in for Gary O'Neill. And we can't say
05:37that Gary O'Neill will be here at the end of those four years. What we can say with that contract is
05:41that there will be a lot of compensation now attached to this deal. Yeah, for sure. Just a
05:46quick point on what you said there about long term. Again, Geoff, she specifically refers to
05:51having Gary O'Neill with them in the long term, which I think is a really
05:54telling point that he makes in those quotes. And then absolutely what you said there,
05:59it's not just an important and smart footballing decision, but I think it's a shrewd financial
06:04decision as well, because yes, they're having to pay Gary and his staff more money in the meantime.
06:09Of course they are, but they protect themselves going forward if and when Gary O'Neill is tempted
06:15or poached by a big job that may or may not come up in the future. I mean, it's inevitable that
06:20he'll be linked with other clubs if he continues to do well. So it makes a lot of sense for all
06:25parties really, because Gary, you know, he's only had his first pre-season as a head coach
06:29and he's coming to the end of it this weekend, isn't he? And it's only his second job as a
06:36manager, going into his third season as a manager. So yeah, it's equally he's in the infancy of his
06:43managerial career as well as him doing really well. So they've got to find the right balance.
06:48And I think they've struck that, as you say, at the beginning of this video, it's probably the
06:52best signing walls are going to make this summer. Keno, I don't want to see your face anymore
06:55tonight. I love you, but crikey, can I just see you at Vallecano? Yeah, to be fair, I'm definitely
07:00up for not seeing you again for quite a while, actually. Maybe not even Vallecano. If you don't
07:03turn up, I'll be happy enough with that. That's the big news today. Gary O'Neill, Pedro Neto.
07:07Oh yeah, and Bueno's gone to Feyenoord. We'll see you later.