O’Neil praises Bournemouth resilience in Wolves draw

BOURNEMOUTH, England : Bournemouth caretaker manager Gary O’Neil says the team laid down a platform from which to build in their goalless home Premier League draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.

O’Neil watched as his side rode their luck at times, but put their bodies on the line to secure a point four days after they lost 9-0 at Liverpool, which led to the sacking of former manager Scott Parker.

"I couldn't be prouder of what the lads put in, from where they were last weekend," O’Neil told BT Sport. "They showed incredible bravery and determination. We had a few issues with players, knocks and things that we had to juggle around.

"Wolves are a good side and caused us problems. We had some good moments when we could have nicked something."

O’Neil was particularly pleased with the reaction to the mauling at Anfield and the spirit shown by his players as they had to weather a Wolves storm, especially in the final 10 minutes.

"Full credit to the lads and the fans, who could tell that the boys were giving everything and out on their feet. They managed to pull us over the line," he said.

"I said to the boys, 'what a chance to show resilience and togetherness at a difficult time’. It gives you a chance in every game. That's what we built our foundation from and it can't just be today."

Former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough midfielder O’Neil, 39, is in a managerial role for the first time.

"I enjoyed the first 10 minutes, maybe, and then when it got a bit messy, I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped," he said.

"I set off on a journey of coaching to be a football manager. Did I expect it to come at this level? No. We'll roll with it until I'm told further."