Gary O’Neil, appointed Town’s 20th manager in their professional history yesterday, says both he and the club have unfinished business in the Premier League.

O’Neil, who has been appointed on a three-year contract, was sacked by Wolves during the 2024/25 Premier League campaign - coincidentally following a 2-1 defeat to the Blues at Molineux - the same season in which Town were relegated back to the Championship after one season in the top flight.

The 43-year-old had seen Wolves to 14th in his first season at the club, having been surprisingly sacked by Bournemouth in the summer of 2023 having seen the newly promoted Cherries to 15th that term.

Asked at yesterday’s press conference whether he has unfinished business in the Premier League

“I think so,” he reflected. “Largely, if you look at my record, it’s gone well considering where the clubs were when I was appointed.

“But I have big aims for myself. I expect a very high level from myself, which is why I work so hard at it.

“I’m not perfect, of course, I’m learning and I’m trying to be as good as I can be and my aim is to get to the very, very top and to work as hard as I can to get there.

“We have a bit of unfinished business, probably similar to the football club, I would guess, which I think aligns me with the club.

“Last time I was in the Premier League, it didn’t end quite the way I wanted. The last time Ipswich were in the Premier League it didn’t end quite how they wanted, so we have a few things that we’re trying to fix this time. Show a slightly better version and see if we can be more successful together.”

The South Londoner says he’s proud to have been offered the job at Town given the club’s history and some of those who have sat in the hotseat in the past.

“The Premier League is huge, of course, and to do it at a club with this history is something new for me,” he added.

“Of course, I’ve had two fantastic opportunities already at Premier League clubs, this one feels very, very special to me because of some of the incredible managers that have been here before, some of the names.

“Very few managers as well, 20 I think in 90 years, which is some effort. Lots of clubs go through 20 in about 10 years, so to do 20 in 90 years is a good effort.

“It’s had some fantastic achievements, the UEFA Cup win, champions of England, the FA Cup win, so to be at a club with that history and with the potential, the potential that it has still to grow and to go on from where it is now is incredible.

“The new training ground, the investment from the owners, how well everything’s run. It gives us a real opportunity.

“It gives me an opportunity as a coach to go and put my mark on something that is already well planned and well run. A fantastic opportunity, very excited.”

It’s rare for a manager to take over a club with the sort of positive momentum Town have at present following their promotion and O’Neil says that’s different from the situations he inherited at Dean Court and Molineux.

“The last two cracks I’ve had at the Premier League it definitely wasn’t taking over a team which was on the up, it was more trying to stabilise something that was looking a little bit fragile,” he recalled.

“Now, this does give me an opportunity. Of course, the level goes up a lot between where Ipswich were a month ago, trying to win promotion in the Championship, to where it’s going to be in the middle of August. The Premier League is a completely different animal to the Championship.

“And there’s going to be a lot of work that needs to be done by me and the players between now and then to make sure that we’re ready.

“But to take over a group, when I’ve watched it, you can see that it’s together, you can see that it was well coached, you could see that it had a good understanding, a good relationship with the fanbase.

“So to take over in that instance is definitely more straightforward than taking over one that needs saving and putting back together.

“I’m looking forward to that opportunity. Of course, the summer transfer window’s going to be important to us as well. We need to make sure that we work very, very hard on that. I know work is already under way trying to give ourselves the best opportunity to be competitive from minute one here against Sunderland.

“But there are some good players already here that are going to get another crack at the Premier League, maybe some that were here two years ago and experienced the Premier League for the first time and I know they’re desperate for another crack at it, and we’re going to give it a right good go.”

O’Neil was reminded that the defeat to the Blues at Molineux which preceded his sacking at Wolves ended chaotically with a post-match fracas which saw a Town security guard’s glasses broken by striker Matheus Cunha.

“Say hello to the security bloke whose glasses got broken? I will actually!” O’Neil smiled when asked about the incident. “That is a good idea. It wasn’t me that broke his glasses though, I can assure you.

“I learnt a lot from the Wolves spell, but a very different club run very, very differently to this one, which is why I’m here and why I was so keen to take over here.”

O’Neil won four promotions as a player and was quizzed on whether those experiences helped mould him as a manager.

“Your playing career is interesting because when you’re young and in it, I didn’t appreciate how big some of those moments were,” he reflected.

“But then as you get to the latter part of it, you understand what it takes to be successful as a group. When I was 21/22, I was just literally playing football because I enjoyed playing football. I’d run up and down, there was no real thought.

“Whereas when I got to the latter part of my career I understood what the group needed from me. I tried to lead, I tried to be an example. I knew I wanted to manage as well afterwards at quite a young age, so I put a lot of work into trying to learn from all the coaches I was around.

“And understanding that step up because I did it a few times as a player. I spent all of my playing career either in the Championship or in the Premier League, almost 50/50, so I know exactly the part of the pyramid Ipswich are at at this moment.

“I spent a lot of my playing career in that sort of area, so I know what the players are going to be feeling, what they’re going to need from me, what they’re going to need from the club.

“It gave me a good opportunity to understand what is needed now and then I’ve added to that as a coach because the Bournemouth and Wolves experiences were priceless, working in the Premier League at such a young age.

“There are so many good coaches around that are working their socks off, some of my friends, and they’re still working in League One, League Two, which is great, but I appreciate the opportunities that I’ve been given to be working at this end of the pyramid and I want to repay the faith that people put in me.

“At this moment, it’s Ipswich Town that have given me a fantastic opportunity and I’m going to do everything I can to repay that.”

Asked what he believes is ultimately achievable at Town, he added: “I think it can become a very, very big club in the English game. If you look at teams that have managed to get promoted and then go on to more than that and be in and around those European places.

“If you look at Brighton recently and the journey they’ve been on. I remember them in the Championship under Chris Hughton and the journey they’ve gone on since then to now be established. You’re surprised if they’re not in the top half, top nine in the league.

“I think this place has that potential, to go on and kick to that. We have a few steps along the way that we need to make and the first one is to make sure that we don’t only spend the one season in this league.

“It needs to make sure that this season we stay in the league, we stabilise, we give ourselves a chance to improve again next summer and start to build.”

Photo: TWTD