Gary O’Neil has added two new members to the Wolves coaching team who will assist the head coach during the 2023/24 Premier League season.
Tim Jenkins joins the club as assistant head coach having worked with O’Neil at AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool, while Shaun Derry has also made the move to Molineux from Crystal Palace as first-team coach, and the pair will link-up with head of goalkeeping Neil Cutler as part of the backroom staff.
Jenkins arrives at Wolves following nine months at the Vitality Stadium where he supported O’Neil as a first-team coach and worked on the creation and delivery of matchday tactical plans.
Bringing 25 years of experience in coaching, development and analytics to Molineux, Jenkins began his career with Oxford United, before spells with Derby County, Hartpury College and Manchester City, where he was responsible for creating development plans and supplying team analysis support for City’s elite development squad.
He switched to Liverpool in November 2012, before spending a decade with the Reds, where he worked as an individual coach for the under-18s and under-23s squad. Jenkins assisted the likes of Alex Inglethope, Michael Beale and Neil Critchley in his role, which included taking two first-team fixtures in the 2019/20 season. He also worked closely with some of Liverpool’s most successful young stars of recent years, such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and Neco Williams, among many others.
With the under-18s, Jenkins helped Liverpool reach the final of the 2021 FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League quarter-finals in 2022, before becoming the club’s head of individual development in June 2022, where he created and delivered individual progression projects within the academy’s professional development phase.
Due to his history in academy development, Jenkins was also given the responsibility to promote individual progression and work with Bournemouth’s players on their specific development areas when he joined up with O’Neil and the Cherries’ first-team last December.
Former Premier League midfielder Derry has spent the last four years with Crystal Palace, a club he represented for six years during two previous occasions as a player, helping the club back to the top-flight in 2004 via the First Division play-offs.
With the likes of Sheffield United, Portsmouth, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers – where he won the 2010/11 Championship title – also among the former clubs on his CV, the 45-year-old brings a wealth of experience to Wolves as both a player and coach.
Once his 18-year professional playing career came to a close in 2013, Derry was appointed manager at Notts County where he guided the Magpies to League One safety despite the team looking destined for relegation upon his arrival.
Following spells as head coach at Cambridge United and assistant under Karl Robinson at Oxford United, Derry returned to Selhurst Park in 2019 as professional development coach in Palace’s academy.
He was then promoted to first-team coach under Patrick Vieira following the Frenchman’s appointment at the start of the last Premier League season, working under both Vieira and Roy Hodgson during the 2022/23 campaign.
