Wolves’ Gary O’Neil Discusses Club’s Stabilization and Future Progression Amid Financial Constraints

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has affirmed that the club is currently in a “stabilising” phase as it works towards securing its Premier League status. The club generated nearly £100 million from the summer transfers of Max Kilman and Pedro Neto, though not all of these funds could be reinvested into the squad. Furthermore, last summer saw the sales of Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes, transactions undertaken to comply with Profit and Sustainability rules, which allowed the team to narrowly avoid sanctions. O’Neil was questioned about the prospect of emulating Saturday’s opponents, Fulham, who currently sit seventh in the Premier League. However, he cautioned against elevated expectations, noting that Wolves are still striving to balance spending with their objective of remaining in the top flight. He stated: “We are still trying to stabilise. After that comes the progression. We are still in that spell where we are trying to stabilise. Discussions around the progression of the club will come later on.” O’Neil emphasized the immediate focus: “The focus is on the short term and making sure we are able to be competitive and pick up enough points. Hopefully in the future we are able to progress the club.” Wolves have recently achieved an unbeaten run of three matches, securing a win against Southampton and draws with Brighton and Crystal Palace. O’Neil acknowledged the importance of sustaining this positive momentum. Commenting on the team’s recent displays, he said: “I was really pleased with the performances. We had some tough opponents. We took Liverpool to the wire, should have taken something off Newcastle and were the better side at Aston Villa for a long while.” Reflecting on a previous fixture, O’Neil remarked, “At Brentford [a 5-3 defeat] we fell below the level and there was a lot of work done to work out what we needed to do. We have tried to do that over the last few weeks and it’s helped us.” Despite recent improvements, he added, “There is still room for improvement. We are in a decent moment, as strange as that sounds given where we are in the league, especially the pressure from the two home games [Southampton and Crystal Palace].”