O’NEIL THE WILD CARD FOR BORO

Bournemouth caretaker is eyed after Wilder’s sacking

GARY O’NEIL has emerged as a surprise contender to take charge at Middlesbrough after Chris Wilder was axed yesterday.

O’neil is interim boss at Bournemouth and has masterminded a four-game unbeaten run following Scott Parker’s dismissal.

And while the current Cherries hierarchy are keen to hang on to him, O’neil knows his position could be in jeopardy once prospective new owner Bill Foley comes in.

Wilder (left) was strongly linked with the Bournemouth job – the second time inside six months he was tipped to quit Boro following Burnley’s interest in him last season.

That was one of the factors which persuaded chairman Steve Gibson to act just 11 months after the former Sheffield United boss arrived at the Riverside.

Wilder looked to be the perfect fit as Boro picked up 19 points out of 21 to move into play-off reckoning and knocked Manchester United and Tottenham out of the FA Cup.

But things started to unravel for Wilder after that Burnley link. Boro missed out on a top-six finish after a dramatic slump in form and this season, despite being among promotion favourites, have just two wins from 11 games.

They went into the international break in 22nd spot and stayed there after becoming Coventry’s first victims of the campaign.

While Marcus Tavernier’s move to Bournemouth on the eve of the season severely disrupted Wilder’s plans, Boro’s recruitment programme was not convincing, missing out on several top targets.

And there was a feeling among disgruntled fans that Wilder had lost his way when he left out two of his better performers, Isaiah Jones and summer signing Ryan Giles, from the starting XI for the 1-0 defeat to

Coventry. O’neil (above) spent four years on Teesside, making more than 100 appearances for the club, and his work on the south coast has caught the eye of Gibson.

But Gibson also wants to speak to former Forest Green boss Rob Edwards, who lost his job at Watford last week.

Goalkeeping coach Leo Percovich will be in the dugout for Wednesday’s home game against Birmingham, with Craig Liddle and Lee Cattermole assisting him.

But Gibson would like a permanent manager in place before Boro visit Millwall this weekend.

Gibson was justifiably proud of his reputation as a chairman who stuck by his managers but since Aitor Karanka’s sacking in March 2017, Garry Monk, Tony Pulis, Jonathan Woodgate, Neil Warnock and Wilder have all been and gone.

None lasted more than 18 months, Gibson hiring and firing as many managers in the last five years as he had in the previous 17.