Gary O’Neil
GARY O’Neil shared how he felt he had “done a good job” in his caretaker spell at Cherries, detailing how he was “proud of the job I’ve done so far.” Asked for his take on his stint in the dugout at the Vitality Stadium,
Gary O’Neil said: “I think I’ve done a good job. I think if you look back to the 9-0 at Liverpool and where we were then, we’ve gone three games without scoring. In the first game against Aston Villa, we’ve scored two set play goals, no goals from open plays in four football matches. In the last three games against Premier League teams, we’ve scored nine, all from open play. We have individuals in a great place. Marcus Tavernier’s been excellent. Chris Mepham stepped up. Marcos Senesi obviously didn’t have long to adapt after losing Lloyd Kelly was huge for us, massive.”
O’Neil then went on to detail exactly how much the loss of captain Lloyd Kelly impacted his side, linking the importance of the defender to Virgil Van Dijk’s impact at Liverpool.
Gary O Neil said: “A comparison would be – remember how dominant Liverpool were in that season (2020-21)? And then they lost Virgil Van Dijk. I know comparing Lloyd to Van Dijk I don’t mean it like that (in terms of quality). I mean that’s how big he is to us. To lose Lloyd Kelly, to us is huge. And we’ve still managed to put 10 points on the board from 10 Premier League games, which, if you do that from every 10, is enough to keep you in the league.”
Clearly bitten by the management bug after a brief taster,
Gary O’Neil continued: There’s been so much good work that’s gone on. I’ve loved it. I think I’ve proved that I can manage at a good level. I think we’ve been up against Antonio Conte Spurs. Obviously some other top managers have been here. Just confirmed to me that this is what I want to do and I’m proud of the job I’ve done so far.”
