O’NEIL’S EYE ONLY ON BALL
BOURNEMOUTH interim head coach Gary O’Neil will continue to focus on football as speculation mounts over a takeover at the Vitality Stadium.
A Las Vegas-led consortium, backed by Bill Foley, owner of the Golden Knights ice hockey team, is pushing to buy the club.
Reports suggest Cherries owner Maxim Demin, the sole shareholder at Bournemouth since 2019, is close to agreeing to sell up with a €170 million offer said to be on the table.
O’Neil took on firstteam duties after Scott Parker was sacked four Premier League games into the season.
Since the change in the dugout, which came following a chastening 9-0 defeat at Liverpool, O’Neil has presided over a three-match unbeaten run.
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With back-to-back home games against Brentford and Leicester, who are bottom, O’Neil feels there is an opportunity to continue to move forwards on the pitch — no matter what might be happening in the boardroom.
“I don’t think the takeover, or whatever is going on in the background, has any impact on myself or the playing squad or how we prepare or how we feel,” O’Neil said.
“We are just getting ready for another game. The boys are extremely professional and ready to go.
“Anything outside of our dressing room definitely won’t affect us either way. We are just going to be relentless in how we prepare.”
The appointment of a permanent new head coach also appears no closer, but until told otherwise O’Neil will just carry on.
“(Technical director) Richard Hughes and (chief executive) Neil Blake I am in regular contact with, and they keep me up to date on what I need to know,” O’Neil said.