Gary O’Neil responds to criticism with Wolves job hanging by a thread

Under-fire Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has vowed to carry on until he is told otherwise after facing a backlash from fans following a Premier League drubbing at Everton.

O’Neil looked on as his side went down 4-0 at Goodison Park on Wednesday evening, four days after losing 4-2 at home to Bournemouth, and faced an angry response at the final whistle.

Reports suggest the club are sounding out potential replacements as they consider making a change, but O’Neil was back at his desk on Thursday and thinking of nothing other than Monday’s trip to West Ham.

Asked if he expected to still be in charge at the London Stadium, the 41-year-old told a press conference: “I can only keep going until things change. I took training this morning, the players that started have recovered, the players that didn’t play have trained.

“You won’t find anyone more hard-working and professional than me. Last night we watched the game back; this morning, we’ve come back in and we’ve watched it back again.

“We’ve started to get ready for West Ham and I know that I can get the group in a good place to go to West Ham and give their best again on Monday.”

O’Neil’s future was thrown into question as it was confirmed that he, along with Liverpool boss Arne Slot and Brighton counterpart Fabian Hurzeler, had been nominated for the Premier League manager of the month award for November.

Draws against Brighton and Crystal Palace and back-to-back wins over Southampton and Fulham – their first and second league victories of the campaign – appeared to have signalled an upturn in Wolves’ fortunes, but that resurgence has proved fleeting.

Asked about the criticism, O’Neil said: “I’m not hurting on a personal level, I’m more disappointed for the fanbase because I understand how much it means to them every weekend.

“A long time ago, I was a football fan myself and I know how important those days are to you. How your club gets on and how it performs has an impact on how you feel.

“I know how much they give – travel, time, money – to support the football club, so I have a good understanding of how they feel. As I always say, the criticism is part and parcel.

“Maybe two weeks ago or whatever it was at Fulham – probably less than that – when we’re stood in front of them and we’ve just scored four away from home and put in a fantastic display, everyone is happy to stand there and take the plaudits, and when it doesn’t go so well, you need to stand up.

“That will never change. My mentality will always be to go front-on with whatever we face to make sure that we lead the group and lead the football club.

O’Neil could face the man who replaced him at Molineux, Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui on Monday night. Could because the Spaniard is also under pressure to keep his job after a less-than-impressive start to his reign at the London Stadium. O’Neil added: “I haven’t even considered who will be in charge [of West Ham]. We obviously assume that Julen will be in charge.

“They have an incredible group of players. I think when you look at the amount of attacking talent that they have, what they have been able to add, it’s an unbelievably talented group that we have to go and face on Monday. They have been in poor form, of course they have, but they go away to Leicester and have 30 shots. They have something there to work with.”