first goal. He was taken down in the box yet managed to pull himself up to loop Marvin Emnes' return ball over the Ipswich Town keeper. The game ended 3–1 in Middlesbrough's favour. Just three days later, on 15 September, he was taken down with a head injury bleeding against Sheffield Wednesday and required stitches, so was taken off the pitch for treatment and returned minutes later. The game ended 3–1, with O'Neil playing an important part in Boro's midfield dominance. O'Neil managed 119 appearances and scored seven goals in total for Boro. West Ham United On 25 January 2011, O'Neil completed a move to West Ham United on a -year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut in the League Cup semi-final, second leg, against Birmingham City, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Luis Boa Morte. On 6 February 2011, O'Neil made his Premier League debut for the Hammers against Birmingham City in a 1–0 defeat at Upton Park and also completed the full 90 minutes. His 2010–11 season was ended prematurely on 16 April 2011 following a tackle by Aston Villa's Nigel Reo-Coker during West Ham's 2–1 home defeat at Upton Park. O'Neil was carried off on a stretcher after the challenge. He underwent a two-hour ankle operation and endured several months out of action with concern that his footballing career was in jeopardy. O'Neil was reported as considering taking legal action against Reo-Coker. By the end of the 2010–11 season, he had made nine appearances for the Hammers in all competitions. O'Neil scored his first goal for West Ham in a 4–1 away win against Blackpool on 21 February 2012 and proved to be a key player in the team's end of season form which saw them reach the Premier League after beating Blackpool 2–1 at Wembley in the Championship play-off final. On 7 June 2013, the Premier League confirmed that he had been released by West Ham. Although released, O'Neil said that discussions were taking place related to him being offered a new contract and that he was likely to sign a new deal nearer the start of the new season. However, David Gold announced on his Twitter account that O'Neil had declined a new contract offer, and consequently became a free agent. Queens Park Rangers On 7 August 2013, O'Neil signed for Championship side Queens Park Rangers on a one-year deal, re-uniting