Gary O’Neil has vowed to make Wolves a fitter team as he prepares to take his new club to Manchester United for his first game in charge.
The former Bournemouth boss has taken the reins at Molineux after Julen Lopetegui departed earlier this week. Lopetegui was in charge for just 27 games but felt unable to stay due to Wolves’ restrictive transfer policy.
Saturday’s training session is only O’Neil’s third with the squad but already he has identified an area for improvement.
‘They’ve probably had quite a tough pre-season, duration-wise,’ said O’Neil. ‘We’ve done a hard couple of days and they seemed to find it quite tough.
‘They worked hard but it seemed like they could feel it a bit, which is to be expected. It’s a new stimulus, different things that we do.
Gary O’Neil will take charge of his first game as Wolves boss on Monday against Man Utd
Julen Lopetegui left Wolves this week after being frustrated over the club’s transfer policy
‘But I think they’re in a good place. If you watch the games they’ve played in pre-season, they look fit, ready to go. Can we get them fitter? Probably. We’ll speak to the guys here, we’ll work hard.
‘As is the case with any season, you always get fitter as it progresses to a certain point and then the second half of the season it’s slightly.
They’re in a good spot fitness-wise but as with everything, we can always improve.’
O’Neil will also hold talks with chairman Jeff Shi before the United game, before meeting him when he returns to England next week.
In a departure from previous managerial appointments, Shi did not drive the decision to hire O’Neil, with sporting director Matt Hobbs leading the recruitment process.
Shi, who is owners Fosun’s man on the ground in Wolverhampton, is currently in his native China but is expected to be at Molineux for next weekend’s clash with Brighton.
O’Neil has only had three training sessions with his new players since taking over as manager
‘I have not spoken to the chairman yet,’ said O’Neil. ‘I am expecting to speak to him soon and when he’s back we’ll meet face to face.
‘There is a real importance around the short-term.
To start thinking about long-term visions would be naïve and a waste of a lot of energy.
The short-term has to look as good as possible and we’re really focusing on Manchester United.’
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