Joleon Lescott has heaped praise on Gary O’Neil for the way he’s started life at Wolves – but the former defender isn’t too surprised by his early success.
Wolves enjoyed a tough start, but the last two results in the Premier League having really changed the mood at Molineux.
A 2-1 win over Manchester City, followed by a respectable 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, have helped many Wolves fans to feel a bit more optimistic.
The mood was fairly low when O’Neil replaced Julen Lopetegui.
But steadily, O’Neil has been putting his stamp on the team and there have been positive signs.
And this doesn’t come as a surprise to former Wolves defender Lescott…
Joleon Lescott hails Gary O’Neil after his start at Wolves
Lescott appeared on the latest Wolves Weekly podcast to talk about his former club and how O’Neil has got on so far.
Lescott, who made 227 appearances for Wanderers, is a big O’Neil fan and waxed lyrical over the 40-year-old: “He was good fun to play with, kind of awkward to play against. Very energetic, lots of energy. Very dedicated to his craft, hence why now you’re seeing him at the top level managing Wolves.
“(I’ve been) Very impressed. You definitely have to have something about you to manage a club of this magnitude. But also to get the buy-in from the players so quickly. It seems like all the players respect him and are on board with what he’s asking them to do and are fully committed to the cause.”
A number of Wolves players have spoken publicly about how they are enjoying things under O’Neil.
Captain Max Kilman recently stated that training sessions under O’Neil had been ‘phenomenal’.
Top scorer Hwang Hee-chan also said that he tought O’Neil was a ‘very clever’ coach.
Good start for O’Neil
O’Neil has overseen a good start at Wolves.
To have taken eight points from the first eight games given the fixture list is good going.
And arguably, Wolves have actually been a little unlucky in parts and could be sat on more points than they currently are.
The main thing is that the players clearly really like O’Neil.
There have been a lot of positive signs early doors, and it is little wonder there is a good level of optimism right now.
