‘I will manage Portsmouth’: How Gary O’Neil could go against Blues promise amid Southampton managerial talk
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Gary O’Neil amassed 192 appearances for Pompey after coming through the ranks at Fratton Park.
Gary O’Neil’s past comments expressing his love for Pompey have re-emerged after talk over a shock move to Southampton in recent days.
The 42-year-old was installed as the bookies’ favourite to succeed Will Still at the St Mary's helm on Friday after the 33-year-old was sacked from his post last week.
Russell Martin, Ralph Hassenhuttl and Michael Carrick were the early front runners before the ex-Pompey midfielder raced to pole position ahead of their game against Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.
But his name has been met with a mixed reception by Southampton supporters on social media, while the Fratton faithful are hoping his Blues allegiance would put paid to any potential move.
Amid talk of a switch to the Saints, O’Neil previously expressed a desire to one day return to PO4 in a managerial role to reignite his Pompey love affair.
What Gary O’Neil has said about Pompey - amid Southampton managerial talk
Speaking to The News’ chief sports writer Neil Allen on Played Up Pompey Three in 2021 prior to his spells at Bournemiuth and Wolves, he said: ‘Stewart Downing, a player I knew from my England under-21 days, spotted me in the Middlesbrough treatment room undertaking a medical.
‘He commented: “The lads told me Gary O’Neil was having his medical. I said no chance. He’s never leaving Pompey, ever’.
‘That’s exactly how I felt - I didn’t imagine myself being anywhere else. From when I made my debut to the day I hung up my boots, I believed I would be at Fratton Park.
‘That probably wouldn’t have happened considering the club’s subsequent downfall and those tough times. I imagine I have needed to leave at some point, yet I never thought I would.
‘Maybe I should have stuck around and bided my time rather than joining Middlesbrough.
‘Perhaps I could have let Harry Redknapp put me in the reserves for a few months before commencing my climb back into the first-team, but I was given only a couple of days to make a decision.
‘Harry never spoke to me about leaving, an obvious sign he didn’t want me to stay. Pompey had accepted bids from Middlesbrough and Fulham, which said everything.
‘Harry obviously felt it was time for me to move on. Besides, they were receiving a decent fee – £5m. Well, if they don’t want me, then I’ll go. I accepted my fate.
‘Having signed for Middlesbrough on transfer deadline day, I returned to the south coast to collect some stuff, popping into our Eastleigh training ground to say goodbye to my good friends Richard Hughes and Linvoy Primus, plus everybody else. It was an emotional day.
‘One minute I was sitting in my newly decorated Warsash house with my baby daughter, Summer-Mae, thinking everything was fine, having been Pompey’s captain a few months earlier. Then, within a 24-hour whirlwind, I was gone.
‘After 11 years, 192 appearances and 17 goals, I said farewell to Fratton Park. I loved it there and still feel I have unfinished business.
‘I established a relationship with the fans which I never had anywhere else in my career. Even though I was from Bromley, in Kent, I did my real growing up at Pompey, this school kid who arrived - then left as a Premier League footballer.
‘I’m certain that one day I will manage Portsmouth Football Club, that’s my aim. Hopefully that moment is part of my future.’