 On 20 January 2009, he was named assistant manager to Chris Hutchings at Walsall, but the pair were sacked on 3 January 2011 after a series of poor results left Walsall bottom of Football League One.After Dean Keates was sacked as Walsall manager in April 2019 with the team in the relegation places, O'Connor was appointed for the remaining five matches of the season.Despite overseeing a stunning 3-0 victory against Peterborough United on 27 April 2019 taking the fight for survival to the last game of the season, O'Connor ultimately could not stop the Saddlers' relegation to League Two.