Gary O’Neil says owners 'messed up' after Strasbourg’s Europe and cup exits | OneFootball

Former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has criticised Strasbourg’s owners after UEFA Conference League and Coupe de France exits, saying a misjudged January left his squad weakened.

According to ExpressAndStar.com, O’Neil was sacked by Wolves in 2024 after publicly urging players to take responsibility, then came close to a Molineux return when Vitor Pereira left. He instead took charge at Strasbourg, replacing Liam Rosenior, who moved to Chelsea, their parent club.

O’Neil has won six of his 15 Ligue 1 matches, but Strasbourg fell short in the cups. They were beaten by Real Vallecano in the UEFA Conference League semi-finals, then lost 2-0 to Nice in the Coupe de France last four.

"I need two centre-forwards," O’Neil said. He added that the owners want to give him the means to perform next season, but the club’s culture, player quality and squad depth must improve. "We messed up in the January transfer window. We weakened instead of improving the squad."

Both Chelsea and Strasbourg are owned by BlueCo, a company owned by Todd Boehly and other investors. Mamadou Sarr, who played a key role in the first half of the season while on loan from Chelsea, was sent back to his parent club. Ecuador international Kendry Paez also had his season-long loan cut short by Chelsea and was immediately loaned to River Plate.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com