Ipswich Town Set to Appoint 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 appointment in the coming days.
Local outlets the East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star report that personal terms between O’Neil and the club are close to being agreed. An official approach to BlueCo, the owners of Strasbourg, is set to follow, but Ipswich are not expecting late complications as they move to replace Kieran McKenna.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had also been under serious consideration for the Portman Road job. The former Manchester United manager was part of the final shortlist, but Ipswich have turned to a coach whose recent work has kept him firmly on Premier League and European radars.
O’Neil’s reputation has been built on firefighting and overachievement. Thrown into the deep end at Bournemouth in 2022/23, he steadied a side many had written off and steered the Cherries to safety in the Premier League. His reward was a swift dismissal, as the club opted to appoint Andoni Iraola.
He resurfaced at Wolves, where his tenure ended with the sack in December 2024. The Midlands club later explored the idea of bringing him back, holding talks in November 2025, but O’Neil withdrew from the process.
His response was to go abroad and rebuild. In six months at Strasbourg, he made an immediate impact, guiding the French side to the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League and an eighth-place finish in Ligue 1. That surge in France has clearly resonated at Portman Road.
Ipswich are also preparing for continuity behind the scenes. O’Neil is expected to bring key lieutenants Tim Jenkins and Neil Critchley with him from Strasbourg, forming a backroom team already aligned with his methods from their time together at the Stade de la Meinau.
If the final details fall into place as anticipated, Ipswich will be handing the reins to a coach who has made a habit of walking into difficult situations — and leaving them in better shape than he found them.
