Ipswich Town Close to Appointing Gary O’Neil as Head Coach
Ipswich Town are closing on Gary O’Neil as their next head coach, with the club expecting to confirm the 43-year-old’s arrival in the coming days.
The Blues have moved quickly to secure a successor to Kieran McKenna, and talks have accelerated to the point where personal terms with O’Neil are understood to be close to agreement. An official approach to BlueCo, the ownership group that controls Strasbourg, is due to follow, and Ipswich are not expecting late complications in getting the deal over the line.
From Portman Road shortlist to frontrunner
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also in contention for the Portman Road job, the former Manchester United manager firmly on the shortlist as Ipswich weighed up their options. The process, though, has steadily pushed O’Neil to the front of the queue.
His appeal is obvious. Twice he has walked into difficult Premier League situations and made them competitive.
At Bournemouth in 2022/23, O’Neil inherited a side many tipped to go straight back down. He steadied the dressing room, tightened the structure and dragged the Cherries away from the relegation zone, securing survival before being replaced by Andoni Iraola at the end of the campaign.
He then took on another demanding assignment at Wolves. His spell at Molineux ended with his sacking in December 2024, but his work there clearly left a mark. It is claimed Wolves held talks about bringing him back in November 2025, only for O’Neil to withdraw from the process himself.
Strasbourg surge puts O’Neil back in demand
Six months in France have rebuilt his momentum. At Strasbourg, O’Neil has not only stabilised a club in transition under BlueCo’s multi-club model, he has pushed them on.
Strasbourg reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League under his watch and finished eighth in Ligue 1, a run that has sharpened his reputation as a coach who can organise, energise and improve a side quickly.
That profile fits neatly with Ipswich’s needs: a coach comfortable in a modern, data-driven structure, but with a track record of handling the intensity of top-flight football and the demands of rapid progress.
Backroom team already taking shape
O’Neil is expected to arrive in Suffolk with familiar lieutenants. Tim Jenkins and Neil Critchley, both part of his backroom staff at the Stade de la Meinau, are set to follow him to Portman Road if the deal is completed as anticipated.
Ipswich moved from uncertainty to clarity at pace once McKenna’s departure became inevitable. Now, with O’Neil poised to step in and a trusted staff likely to join him, the club stand on the brink of a new chapter – one built around a coach who has made a habit of walking into turbulence and turning it into opportunity.
