The list of candidates to become Wolverhampton Wanderers’ new manager has dwindled after Gary O’Neil removed himself from consideration according to multiple reports, leaving former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag in the running.
Wolves sacked Vitor Pereira on Sunday after the Midlands outfit slumped to a limp 3–0 loss against Fulham. The Portuguese boss collected just two points from the first 10 league games of the season, ensuring that his club remain the only team across England’s top seven tiers to still be pining after a win.
Pereira had only been handed a new three-year contract 45 days earlier and BBC Sport claim that the club’s hierarchy “did not want to make change” coming into last weekend’s fixtures. The nature of the Craven Cottage defeat ultimately proved to be one humiliation too many.
Ten Hag emerged as a surprise candidate to replace Pereira shortly after his sacking. However, O’Neil had been billed as the leading favourite to return to a club which dismissed him just 11 months ago. A wave of fan backlash greeted those reports, prompting numerous outlets to just as quickly claim that the English boss had withdrawn from the race.
Personal terms between O’Neil and Wolves had been agreed, per The Telegraph, before the club gave in to public opinion.
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Middlesbrough manager Rob Edwards is said to be “high on the list” of candidates, which also includes a bevvy of Manchester United-adjacent individuals. On top of Ten Hag, who is being discussed internally, Michael Carrick is widely billed as a viable contender.
The former United midfielder and caretaker manager is unattached after leaving Boro in the summer following a disappointing 10th-placed finish. There had been high hopes for Carrick’s managerial acumen after gatecrashing the top four in his debut season in Middlesbrough but it has been a case of diminishing returns since. The prevailing concern about Carrick is an inability to adapt to in-game alterations.
Fellow United alum Ole Gunnar Solskjær was the ultimate game-changer during his playing career but is yet to quite replicate those heights from the dugout. The former Premier League runner-up is also a free agent following his dismissal from Beşiktaş in August.
Whichever candidate takes over at Molineux has an intriguing opening fixture, as Wolves travel to Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Erik ten Hag’s Hopes of Premier League Return Boosted.