O’Neil: I’m Really Excited By It, I Love the Big Challenges
Friday, 28th Aug 2026 18:36
Town visit Manchester United on Sunday aiming to maintain their impressive start to the season and inflict further woe on a Red Devils side beaten by fellow Premier League new boys Hull City in their opening fixture (KO 4.30pm, Sky Sports).
United, who finished third in the Premier League last season, got off this campaign off to a poor start last weekend when they were beaten 2-0 away by the Tigers.
The result was something of a surprise as the Old Trafford club had ended last season in a rich vein of form following ex-midfielder Michael Carrick’s appointment as interim and later permanent manager following Ruben Amorim’s departure at a time when they were struggling in seventh.
Carrick was in charge of 17 Premier League matches, winning 12 and drawing three, picking up 39 points, the same as champions Arsenal over the same period.
“I think Michael’s done an incredible job,” Blues boss Gary O’Neil said. “A club that he obviously knows very well from his time there.
“He managed to sort of refocus the group, I guess, after a fairly turbulent time before and did very, very well. Unbelievable league form, got them back into Europe, so unbelievable respect.
“Obviously, I don’t know what it’s like to be at a club of that magnitude, but I would imagine it’s pretty difficult and you face some challenges and he’s dealt with them all fantastically well.
“[Regarding] Hull, you can lose any Premier League game. I’ve watched the game and they could easily have won that game.
“Of course, a big thing will be made of it because Manchester United have lost at Hull, I understand that, and the narrative will always be that.
“But if you watch the game without that emotion and without that narrative, the game could easily have gone a different way. Premier League games can be decided in flashes.
“And I’m sure Manchester United will come back from that Hull defeat, but hopefully we go there this weekend and we manage to control them and we manage to have our own say in the game.
“But no doubt they’re going to have a successful season, from what I can see and the quality that they have.”
Despite United recently not having had the success of a few years ago, O’Neil believes Old Trafford still retains its aura.
“It motivates me and it should do the players because it’s one of the pinnacles of English and European football to go to Old Trafford,” he said.
“For everyone as well, it’s really hard to get to that moment to be able to go there and compete in a game of football.
“We’re not going there to admire the stadium and admire what a fantastic squad Manchester United have, we’re going there to do business because we’ve earned the right to. Everyone in this building has earned the right to go there and have a right go at taking three points.
“So, I’m really excited by it. I love the big challenges. I love the fact that the challenges in the Premier League vary, how you prepare a group for Sunderland mentally, what the emotion was going to feel like and what they might need that day versus what the group might need emotionally at Old Trafford.
“Big challenges for us to make sure that we get ourselves in that sweet spot. Tactically, I’m sure what we do fits really well.
“But now, the challenge is we’ve done it at home on the first day with a massive fanbase behind us and an unbelievable amount of energy.
“The test now is we go away and Manchester United will have the advantage of that energy and that emotion from the sides, and we’re going to be on the other end.
“It’s for us to make sure that we can cope with both sides of that and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
O’Neil says he travels to the North-West with great faith in his squad, while not disregarding the quality of the hosts.
“I always have huge confidence and belief in my group, no matter who we’re playing, home or away. That will never ever change,” he continued.
“But I also have respect for opposition. I’m not one of those that is blasé and just thinks, ’OK, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing’. There’s a lot of respect that goes into our preparation as well. Respect for the coach, respect for the opposition.
“But beneath all that, the thing that cements all of it is the belief that I have in the group. And as I said to you on Tuesday, I had literally no problem at all making so many changes against Leicester.
“I trusted everybody in that Tuesday night team to perform, for the team to look just as good as it did at the weekend.
“And I’m sure we’ll be ready come Sunday afternoon for one of the biggest tests in European football. It’s a fantastic challenge for us, but we see it as an opportunity.”
He added: “We’ll definitely be giving it a go. I’ve got a bit more prep to do. Obviously, a slightly shorter week with the Leicester game in the middle of it.
“But at this moment, I don’t see any reason why we can’t go there and just be really consistent with what we’ve done.”
O’Neil was last at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 2023/24 season for his first game in charge of Wolves, the Molineux side falling to a harsh 1-0 defeat having played well and been denied a late penalty, which the PGMOL later admitted was the wrong decision and apologised.
“We somehow lost 1-0. I got a yellow card late,” he recalled. “We played well, possible penalty, good performance.
“We played there with Bournemouth as well. I think we lost 3-0 but played really, really well that day.
“Of course, we want to perform and performing gives us the opportunity to get a result. But going there to get a result is all we’re interested in.
“We’ve been really consistent with what we do. I have a big belief in it. We’ve played in a really similar way all pre-season.
“We used it against Sunderland, we used it against Leicester and it’s been successful. So for me now, we just carry it to Manchester United. We back ourselves to be ourselves and we see how we get on.”
O’Neil had praise for United skipper Bruno Fernandes, although baulked at the suggestion he carried his teammates.
“I think carrying United would probably be unfair on the football club and some of the other players there, but he’s obviously an incredible footballer,” he said.
“I think you can see that he leads by example with passion and unbelievable determination to win. You can see he takes a lot on his shoulders as well.
“If the team is struggling, he tries to make things happen himself. He won’t be one to sit back and see what happens. He takes the game by the scruff of the neck.
“So, a big talent, one of many that they have. But something that we’re looking forward to, there’s absolutely no fear in this dressing room, in this training ground about what we’re going into.
“There’s respect for what a quality team they are, a quality coach, fantastic players, but we go there with a real belief in what we do and what we’re building and we’re going to do our best to surprise a few and to keep our run going.”
O’Neil will be facing a familiar face from his Wolves days, Brazilian international striker Matheus Cunha, for whom he has a lot of time.
“Good guy, enjoyed working with him,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to come out on top.
“But he takes some stopping. Obviously, the quality that he has and he’s progressed again since he’s arrived there, he seems to have stepped up to the challenge of joining a big club. He has a big personality, one of many that they have.
“It’s interesting, really, I was asked this question a few times in France when we faced teams with real standout, quality players. I try and prepare my team to deal with their team. There’s no real focus on stopping individuals.
“Of course, we respect the quality that they have, but we try to put our team in place to give us good protection against scenarios that we think we’ll face.
“So, Matheus, of course, is a talented boy, but if you spend too much time concentrating on him, [Bryan] Mbeumo will put one in the top corner or Fernandes will do something special. So, there are a few there.
“We’ll concentrate on us, concentrate on being well prepared. And the steely determination in the group gives me real belief that we can go away [and get a result],
“I’m sure not every weekend will go our way, but I know what I’m going to see from the group and how they’re going to approach it, and that gives me real confidence and belief that we can be really competitive there.”
Asked what it’s like to manage a volatile character such as Cunha, O’Neil says the perception of the 27-year-old is incorrect.
Town fans might be forgiven for seeing him in that way after he elbowed a security man in the back of his head and broke his glasses following the away game at Molineux in December 2024.
“He’s not that volatile,” O’Neil insisted. “He’s a great guy, he’s passionate. I loved working with him. I loved the challenge of teaching him, I suppose, because he was unbelievably raw.
“Not technically. He was unbelievably good technically, but his tactical stuff and his understanding of what the team needed from him I felt needed a lot of work.
“We spent a lot of time together trying to help him understand how he can be better for the team.
“And he committed to it. He was fantastic for us. Obviously, a big, big positive from my time at Wolves was the work done with him.
“He got a big, big move off the back of that work. He’s maybe misunderstood. I wouldn’t describe him as volatile at all. I think he’s a good guy. He wears his heart on his sleeve.
“I suppose the game can sometimes take you to places emotionally. I’ll have done things that maybe I wouldn’t do again. It’s just the nature of the game and the nature of the Premier League.
“But he’s a good guy. I think a lot of him and we’re still in contact, but I’m desperate to beat him and send him a cheeky late-night Sunday text: ’Unlucky, Matheus!’. That would be nice.
Regarding the security man, O’Neil smiled: “He’s still here, actually. Chris is still here. Cunha apologised, obviously, for that. These things go on. I don’t think that’s a reflection of Matheus as a character at all.
“I know Chris has forgiven him. Chris has forgiven me for allowing Cunha to do that as well, if it even was my fault.
“Matheus is a good guy. But, like I say, he plays Manchester United now. I’ve got at least 27 people in there that are far further up my importance list than Cunha now. So I’m focusing on us.”
O’Neil is likely to return essentially to the team which beat Sunderland last weekend with Kjell Scherpen in goal, skipper Dara O’Shea at right-back, Leif Davis at left-back and Issa Diop and Jacob Greaves the centre-halves.
The Blues boss may be tempted to give new signing Exequiel Palacios his debut in midfield alongside Sasa Lukic, although Florentino Luis is also expected to be available following his calf injury and could also be under consideration for his debut. That being the case, Marcelino Nunez would drop to the bench.
Ahead of them, Abdul Fatawu looks set to be on the right, Daizen Maeda on the left and Julio Enciso the number 10. Emersonn will be looking to add to his debut goal as the central striker.
Mason Mount could be back in the United squad after returning to training following a foot injury, but Amad Diallo remains sidelined and new signing Carlos Baleba, who was brought in from Brighton in a £70 million deal earlier this week, is also unavailable due to an ankle issue. Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte are long-term absentees.
Manager Carrick is looking for his side to get their season up and running against the Blues in the wake of last week’s surprise slip-up at the MKM Stadium.
“We want a good performance and a win, obviously,” he said. “First home game of the season, it’s the one we look forward to and the supporters coming. Massively looking forward to the game.
“We had a setback last week and we want to get back to playing well and winning football matches.
“Another tough game again. They obviously had a big result last week as well, so it’ll be another challenge for us.”
Historically, the Blues have won 19 games between the sides (17 in the league) and the Red Devils 30 (25), while 10 (10) have been draws.
Town last beat Manchester United in the Coca-Cola Cup in 1997 when goals from Alex Mathie and Mauricio Taricco saw George Burley’s side to a 2-0 victory.
In the league, the Blues most recently defeated the Red Devils at Portman Road in September 1994 when Paul Mason scored twice and Steve Sedgley once in a 3-2 success.
At Old Trafford, you have to go back to May 1984 for a Town victory, Bobby Ferguson’s side coming from behind at half-time to win 2-1, Mich d’Avray and Alan Sunderland bagging the goals.
Remarkably, that match remains the last time United lost at Old Trafford in the league having been ahead at half-time. Since then, United are unbeaten in 400 games when in front after 45 minutes.
The teams most recently met in February 2025 when Town spurned a golden chance to win at Old Trafford and gain some ground in the Premier League relegation battle as they were beaten 3-2 by 10-man United.
Jaden Philogene was gifted his first league goal for the Blues in the fourth minute by a defensive mix-up, but the home side went into a 2-1 lead through a Sam Morsy own goal and a De Ligt rebound.
Two minutes before the break, Patrick Dorgu was shown a straight red card for a foul on Omari Hutchinson following a VAR review and Town levelled through Philogene’s second goal, a cross sneaking into the corner of the net.
The game looked there for the taking but after conceding a Harry Maguire header two minutes after the restart, United’s third goal from a set piece that evening, they never seriously threatened to get back on terms at manager Kieran McKenna’s old club.
At Portman Road in the preceding November, Hutchinson’s first Premier League goal just before half-time saw the Blues to a 1-1 home draw with United.
The Red Devils, with then-head coach Amorim in charge for the first time, went in front in the 80th second through Marcus Rashford, but the Blues deserved their leveller when it came and had second half chances to win it via Liam Delap and Conor Chaplin.
Sunday’s referee is Craig Pawson, his assistants Lee Betts and Mat Wilkes, and the fourth official Andy Madley. The VAR official is Jarred Gillett with his assistant Tim Wood.
South Yorkshire-based Pawson was coincidentally the VAR official when Town visited Old Trafford in 2024/25.
He last refereed the Blues in the 1-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace in December 2024 when he yellow-carded O’Shea, Greaves and four of the visitors.
Prior to that, his most recent Town match was the 2-0 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road in October 2018, Paul Hurst’s last game as Town boss with Marcus Evans swinging the axe the following day. Pawson cautioned Flynn Downes, Jon Nolan, Jonas Knudson and no Whites.
Prior to that, he was in charge as Town beat Middlesbrough 4-0 back in February 2013 – the game then-manager Mick McCarthy missed through illness – in which he booked only Guirane N’Daw.
Pawson also refereed the 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Hull City the previous season when he yellow-carded Tommy Smith and one home player.
Earlier that campaign he was in the middle for the 3-0 home win over Coventry, booking only one Sky Blue.
In February 2011 he refereed the 1-1 home draw with Hull, yellow-carding Grant Leadbitter.
Eleven months earlier, he took control of the 0-0 draw at Swansea, in which he cautioned one home player.
Scherpen, Walton, O’Shea (c), Furlong, Diop, Greaves, Kipre, Davis, Ouattara, Lukic, Florentino, Palacios, Nunez, Humphreys, Fatawu, McAteer, Enciso, Walle Egeli, Clarke, Mehmeti, Maeda, Emersonn, Akpom.
Photo: TWTD
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