Despite having just gained promotion to the Premier League with Ipswich Town, their manager, Kieran McKenna, has resigned. Former West Ham United midfielder Gary O'Neil could replace him.
The BBC has reported that "O'Neil - currently boss of Strasbourg after being appointed in January - is one manager in the frame to replace McKenna."
O'Neil's tenure as a West Ham player was marred by an ankle injury. However, he still managed to help the Hammers gain promotion to the Premier League via the Championship playoffs in 2012. He scored three goals with seven assists in 56 games for West Ham.
A memorable performance from O'Neil back in the top flight came in a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion. The midfielder set up Andy Carroll before scoring himself. O'Neil had West Brom's Youssouf Mulumbu in his pocket during the match. Mulumbu got so frustrated that he picked up the ball and booted it at Mulumbu. The Baggies midfielder was sent off for this.
After West Ham, O'Neil played for Queens Park Rangers, with whom he also won the Championship playoffs. This was despite O'Neil being sent off. Former Hammer, Bobby Zamora, bailed him out by scoring a late winner in that game.
O'Neil then achieved promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs with Norwich City. Norwich are big rivals of Ipswich, so O'Neil will have a job getting fans onside if he is to be the next Ipswich manager.
Gary O'Neil has already made his mark as a manager
After retiring, O'Neil worked as an assistant at Liverpool's Under-23s and then the same role with AFC Bournemouth. After a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool, Scott Parker was sacked as the Cherries boss, and O'Neil took the reins.
O'Neil guided Bournemouth to survival in the Premier League, but he was surprisingly sacked. However, he was replaced by Andoni Iraola, who had just qualified them for Europe before being appointed the new Liverpool boss.
Wolverhampton Wanderers was O'Neil's next job, which he took over at short notice, after Julen Lopetegui had walked out. His first season at Wolves went well, and O'Neil also made a good impression on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.
Unfortunately, Wolves continued to sell their top players, including Max Kilman and Pedro Neto. O'Neil could not replicate their form from the previous campaign and was sacked mid-way through the 2024/25 campaign.
How has O'Neil gotten on at Strasbourg?
O'Neil was then chosen to replace Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg. Rosenior had just been appointed Chelsea manager, and that could have looked like the pathway for O'Neil. Strasbourg and Chelsea are sister clubs, but given the disastrous stint that Rosenior had at Stamford Bridge, it is unlikely that the Chelsea hierarchy would appoint O'Neil from the Ligue 1 side. The West London side has also recently appointed Xabi Alonso as their manager.
With Strasbourg, O'Neil did a solid job, helping them reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League and the Coupe de France. However, they finished eighth in Ligue 1, just missing out on European qualification.
All does not seem well for O'Neil in Stasbourg, however. He spoke out against the club's owners, BlueCo, for not improving his roster during the January transfer window. There was also a report that O'Neil could be sacked and replaced by Filipe Luis. O'Neil has also been linked with the West Ham job recently. He was apparently high on the club's list of suitors, along with Parker, if they were to replace Nuno Espirito Santo.
O'Neil spent the entirety of his playing career in Britain. Therefore, it would be a huge culture shock moving to France. Perhaps for him and his family, it would be good for them to return to England with Ipswich. A chance back in the Premier League would also be very tempting for the manager. However, keeping the Tractor Boys in the division will be a tough ask.
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