Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has challenged his players to continue to raise the level for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign, with 10 games remaining in the Premier League and a crucial FA Cup fixture looming.
Not many would have believed that Wolves would be sitting two points below seventh place and one game away from Wembley with two months of the season to play.
The position of the Old Gold has been heavily inspired by the work of Gary O’Neil, who has continued to defy the odds with his small Molineux squad this campaign.
Despite Wolves being in a far greater position than perhaps anticipated prior to the season, the manager has now urged his players to fight for more with 10 games remaining in the Premier League and an FA Cup quarter-final approaching.
What Gary O’Neil has now asked of his Wolves players
Following the Midlands club’s hard-fought win over Fulham on Saturday, O’Neil expressed to the media that he is asking for more than just being comfortable from his players.
The 2-1 victory over the Cottagers took Wolves to just two points behind West Ham in seventh place, the spot that is being eyed by many to potentially gain entry into European competition next season.
O’Neil said that he has already “spoken” to his team and revealed what he is now asking of the squad despite their successes already this campaign, relayed by Shropshire Star.
“I’ve spoken to them already, I don’t want the ceiling to come.”
“It’s really easy for us to be on 38 points before the Fulham game, and 38 probably won’t go down. There’s a big Cup game coming so maybe they think this game’s not that important, but it is, they all are.”
“We have to fight now. We can wait until we’re in a mess again and wait until we’re fourth from bottom at some point and then start fighting. Or we can continue to fight now and see how high up the league we can finish.”
“That’s the challenge to the players. Can we not feel comfortable, can we not drop our level at all and can we keep fighting for every single point and see where we can get to.”
Gary O’Neil could take Wolves to a European finish
Not only are Wolves firmly in the race to secure European football of some capacity next season, but the Old Gold remain challenging in the FA Cup.
In the dream scenario that the squad were to win the trophy, European football would be confirmed regardless, handing O’Neil two paths into a competition with two months of the season to play.
The manager has a strong point of not allowing his players to stop running now that they have discovered a sense of comfort, which is understandable considering just how far the squad has progressed this term.
