Ipswich Town boss Gary O’Neil will attempt to end his old club Bournemouth’s fabulous winning streak when the two sides meet on Sunday.
O’Neil started his managerial career with the Cherries back in the 2022-23 campaign, guiding them to safety in their first tilt back in the Premier League having taken over from Scott Parker early on in that season. He was, from the outside, rather harshly axed the following summer but has since gone on to manage Wolves, Strasbourg and now Ipswich.
Bournemouth travel to Portman Road in scintillating form, having won seven games in a row with the likes of Manchester United and AC Milan among the teams swatted aside by Marco Rose’s men.
O’Neil said of the challenge that awaits his team: “It sounds like a difficult challenge. They have obviously found a good way at the moment. They have excellent players. The amount of top players they have been able to recruit, and the whole team put together, has been impressive.”
O’Neil, 43, feels he is now a different coach since his stint in Dorset but that he looks back on his time there favourably.
He added: “I’d only just retired from playing and done a bit of coaching. I was thrown into the Premier League, but showed with no experience that I could put a team together. That gave me belief.”
He added that he was grateful to Bournemouth for giving him the chance and there were no hard feelings over his exit.
As for the visitors on Sunday, they understandably arrive full of confidence and whilst they have shown they can score plenty, their defensive prowess has also been an impressive trait during this run.
Thursday’s 3-1 Europa League win in Sparta Prague saw their six-game run of clean sheets come to an end, with Ebrima Singhateh’s goal the first time the Cherries had conceded in just shy of ten hours.
Rose reflected: “It’s a big achievement and we have to continue, we need to stay alert, sharp. It’s up to us to use this momentum.
“Everyone tries to beat us, if we get in a comfort zone just a little bit we get in trouble.”
Rose is likely to shuffle his pack on Sunday, for what is the final fixture before the latest international break. Bournemouth could go as high as fifth by the end of the weekend if results go their way whilst Ipswich would likely reside in the top half if they can rack up a fourth win of the campaign – a tally that would equal their amount of wins in the entirety of their last Premier League campaign two years ago.
