O'Neil was direct when asked whether survival was the sole aim for the season.
"I think if you ask probably 14 clubs in the division, the first aim will be that. But of course, we want to go on from that. The aim is to grow and to achieve more. It's been in Europe before. It's won in Europe before. It's a big, big football club that we can do special things with. But as a newly promoted side, if I sat here and said anything other than 'we need to make sure we stay up first', I'm sure you guys would be fairly surprised."
He was candid about what replacing Kieran McKenna requires.
"No-one can argue that Kieran did incredible things for the football club. Now the focus has to be the next step — how we stabilise as a Premier League club. And that's why I'm here. I have experience in that. I've done it before."
On playing style, O'Neil promised attacking intent while acknowledging hard realities.
"I want my teams to have the ball. I want us to express ourselves. But it is the Premier League — there are some big hitters in it and there are some games that you have to adapt a bit. We played 4-2-3-1 at Strasbourg and had a lot of the ball and I liked that. But we will play Man City at the Etihad at some point and maybe we won't do that on those days."
On the bigger ambition, he drew on Brighton's rise as a model.
"Look at Brighton and the journey they've been on. I remember them in the Championship under Chris Hughton. Now you're surprised if they're not in the top nine. This place has that potential. We have a few steps we need to make. The first is to make sure we don't only spend one season in this league."
O'Neil acknowledged unfinished business from his time at Bournemouth and Wolves.
"Last time I was in the Premier League, it didn't end quite the way I wanted. Last time Ipswich were in the Premier League, it didn't end quite how they wanted. So we have a few things that we're trying to fix this time, to show a slightly better version and see if we can be more successful together."
He described Ipswich as the most significant appointment of his career.
"This one feels very, very special to me because of some of the incredible managers that have been here before. Twenty in 90 years — lots of clubs go through 20 in about 10 years. The European Cup win, champions of England, an FA Cup win. To be at a club with that history and with the potential still to grow is incredible."
His message to the supporters came at the close.
"I want to do something very, very special here. I want to make everyone proud. And when I leave here, I want this to be the most special one so far. Once I'm in, I'm fully in. I live this now. This is all I do."
O'Neil's backroom staff of Tim Jenkins, Neil Critchley and Ed Ames all join from Strasbourg. Ipswich open the Premier League season at home to Sunderland.