Ex-Bolton boss Phil Parkinson has spoken warmly of former Wanderers midfielder Gary O'Neil as he takes up the permanent manager job at Bournemouth.
O'Neil ended his career at Wanderers in the 2018/19 season under Parkinson. He played 31 games and scored three times in that campaign.
Since then, he has begun his managerial career and had been in caretaker charge of the Cherries following the departure of Scott Parker from the Premier League club. However, the Vitality Stadium club have since decided to install O'Neil on a permanent basis in the dugout at the top flight outfit.
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Parkinson has spoken on O'Neil's time at the Whites and, despite his age at the time and coming towards the conclusion of his playing days, the current Wrexham boss has spoken highly of the midfielder and the qualities he possessed on the pitch. He believes he has taken those into his managerial career.
Speaking to the Athletic, Parkinson said: “When you get to the age Gary was and you don’t play, people do start writing you off. But very quickly, we realised what a class player he was and he still had a real hunger to play.
"He’s someone who loved football and loved playing football. A very intelligent player with a good tactical understanding of the game and he was a pleasure to work with.
“The lads respected him. Not just because of the level he’d played at, but just the way he conducted himself in training. He set a great example for the younger players. His physical data was always the highest in the group, in training and in matches.
“Gary was professional, intelligent and meticulous. He was very detailed in the way he played and I can see he’s taken that into his managerial career.”
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