Wolverhampton Wanderers have rewarded head coach Gary OāNeil for a superb maiden campaign by handing him a new four-year contract.
OāNeil, 41, took charge of the Molineux outfit last August, replacing Julen Lopetegui, before guiding them to 14th in the Premier League and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
He signs his contract extension on the anniversary of his arrival at Wolves and with the new season just a week away.
āIām really pleased,ā said OāNeil, who has also managed at Bournemouth.
āMe and (Wolves sporting director) Matt (Hobbs) started discussing it towards the latter part of last season, but there was a lot of things going on and we thought it was best to keep ploughing on with the important stuff like the team, making sure we were in a good spot, and when the time arrived to discuss it, it was fairly straightforward from my point of view.
āIām absolutely loving my time here, really enjoying it, my staff love it, my family love it, so itās felt a really special place for us over the past year and Iām looking forward to continuing the journey.ā
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OāNeil will take charge of Wolvesā final friendly, against LaLiga side Rayo Vallecano at Molineux on Saturday, prior to their opening clash of the league season against Arsenal at the Emirates.
OāNeilās extension came on the same day it emerged winger Pedro Neto was set to leave the club to join Chelsea in a deal worth Ā£54million.
āWith basically every pundit in the world, we were always nominated for one of the favourites to go down,ā added OāNeil as he reflected on his first season at Wolves.
āIām sure certain people will think the same this year, where theyāll think weāve lost our captain (Max Kilman has joined West Ham) and not signed loads of players, so Iād guess people will start to write us off again this year and it makes the group stronger.
āThe belief inside the dressing room is huge, weāve made some really good changes in there which have helped us around mentality and how we work on things.
āIām really looking forward to the season. Thereāll be challenges of course, like there always is in a Premier League season, but Iām looking forward to trying to take it on from last year.ā
OāNeilās backroom staff, including assistant head coach Tim Jenkins, have also signed deals to remain with the club until 2028.
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