Alex Neil (footballer)

Playing career

Airdrieonians

Born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Neil began his career at Dunfermline Athletic, before joining Airdrieonians on a free transfer in the summer of 1999. He made his professional debut in the Scottish Football League First Division on 3 January 2000, as a 64th-minute substitute for Steve McCormick in a 2–0 home loss to Falkirk. Five days later, on his first start, he scored in the eighth minute of a 3–1 loss at St Mirren. He finished his first season with 5 goals from 16 appearances, with the other four scored in three consecutive games in April, including two in a 3–0 home win over Greenock Morton on the 8th.

Barnsley

After his first professional season, Neil was recommended to Barnsley by his next-door neighbour Peter Hetherston, a friend of their manager Dave Bassett. He made his debut for the Tykes in the Football League First Division on 26 August 2000, replacing Lee Jones for the final ten minutes of a 4–1 home win over West Bromwich Albion. He made 32 league appearances in his first season at Oakwell, and was sent off on 28 April 2001 in a 1–0 home loss to Bolton Wanderers.

On 15 September 2001, Neil scored his first goal in English football, concluding a 2–0 home win over Crewe Alexandra. He netted again on 8 November in a 2–2 draw at Preston North End, in a campaign which ended in relegation. Neil spent the following two seasons in the Second Division, scoring the decisive goals in 3–2 wins at Rushden & Diamonds and Stockport County on 10 April and 8 May 2004.

Mansfield Town

On 20 July 2004, Neil joined Mansfield Town on a free transfer. He made 41 appearances for them in League Two that season, and scored his first goal on 23 November in the first round of the FA Cup, a consolation in a 4–1 loss to Colchester United at Layer Road. His only league goal for the Stags came on 5 March 2005, opening a 1–1 draw against Shrewsbury Town at Field Mill.

Hamilton Academical

On 28 May 2005, having been told that he was surplus to the requirements of Mansfield manager Carlton Palmer, Neil returned to the Scottish First Division, signing a two-year deal at Hamilton Academical. He made his Accies debut on 13 August, as they began the season with a 0–1 loss to St Johnstone at New Douglas Park. Seventeen days later, he scored his first goal for his new team in the second round of the Scottish Challenge Cup, netting the only goal away to Ross County when he headed in Brian Carrigan's cross just before half time. On 22 October, he got his first league goal for them, in the first minute of the second half of a 3–0 home win against Brechin City. Neil played the entirety of the 2005 Scottish Challenge Cup Final on 6 November, a 2–1 loss to St Mirren at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie. The Accies also reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, with Neil scoring a penalty kick in the fourth round replay at Alloa Athletic, a 3–0 win.

Neil played 30 league games in 2007–08, as Hamilton won the division and promotion to the Scottish Premier League. He scored once that season, opening a 4–0 home win over Stirling Albion on 15 September 2007 with a 40-yard free kick.

On 6 May 2011, Neil signed a new three-year contract.

Managerial career

Hamilton Academical

After manager Billy Reid vacated his managerial position at Hamilton in April 2013, Neil (who had already been involved in coaching the club's youth teams) was appointed player-manager on an interim basis. He was made manager on a permanent basis on 24 May 2013, at the age of 31. Assisted by Frankie McAvoy, Neil led the club to promotion back to the top flight in his first full season, winning through the play-off system in May 2014. Hamilton then enjoyed a good start to the 2014–15 Scottish Premiership, defeating Celtic away for the first time in 76 years.

Norwich City

In January 2015, Neil obtained permission from Hamilton to speak to Norwich City about their managerial vacancy. On 9 January, he was confirmed as their new manager at 33 years old, the second youngest in the Football League after Mansfield's Adam Murray. The following day in his first game, he managed his team to a 2–1 victory at Championship leaders AFC Bournemouth. Norwich gained 17 wins from 25 games played under Neil in the 2014–15 season. They finished third in the Championship and entered the play-offs, where in the semi-finals they beat East Anglia derby rivals Ipswich Town 4–2 on aggregate over two legs. On 25 May, Neil led Norwich to a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough in the 2015 Football League Championship play-off final, as goalscorers Cameron Jerome and Nathan Redmond secured promotion to the 2015–16 Premier League. During the 2015 close season, Neil signed a new contract with Norwich City.

Norwich were relegated after a single season in the Premier League. Neil had his contract terminated in March 2017, with the Canaries 8th in the Championship table. They had won seven of their last 24 games in The Championship and were nine points outside the top six play-off places. Neil admitted to regret over summer recruitment, which led to his sacking in March.

Preston North End

On 4 July 2017, Neil was appointed as manager of Championship club Preston North End, replacing Simon Grayson, who left the club to take over as manager of Sunderland.

On 21 March 2021, Neil left Preston North End by mutual consent with the club 16th in the Championship table.

Sunderland

On 11 February 2022, Neil was appointed as the new manager of Sunderland, on a 12-month rolling contract. On 21 May 2022, Neil guided Sunderland to promotion back to the Championship after a four-year absence after they beat Wycombe Wanderers 2–0 in front of almost 50,000 Sunderland fans at Wembley in the 2022 EFL League One play-off final.

Stoke City

On 28 August 2022, Neil was appointed as the new manager of Stoke City, after the dismissal of Michael O'Neill. His first game in charge ended in a 1–1 draw against Swansea City. Stoke ended the 2022–23 season in 16th place. On 10 December 2023, Neil was sacked following a 1–0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday. Stoke were 20th in the table at the time of his departure.

Millwall

On 30 December 2024, Neil was appointed head coach of Championship side Millwall on a long-term contract. He lost his first game in charge as Millwall were defeated 1–0 by Oxford United. In May 2025, he signed a new contract with the club.

Career statistics

Player

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Hamilton Academical

• Scottish Football League First Division: 2007–08

Manager

Hamilton Academical

• Scottish Premiership play-offs: 2014

Norwich City

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2015

Sunderland

• EFL League One play-offs: 2022

Individual

• EFL Championship Manager of the Month: September 2016

References

References

1. {{Hugman. 14451
2. "League Managers Association – Alex Neil".
3. "Accies skipper more than happy to get his boots on for Friday Night Football | SPFL".
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5. (30 May 2015). "Mum of Norwich City manager Alex Neil on his amazing rise through £130m play-off into Premier League". Daily Record.
6. (3 July 2000). "Double Signing Confirmed". Barnsley Football Club.
7. (28 April 2001). "Barnsley 0–1 Bolton". BBC Sport.
8. (15 September 2001). "Barnsley 2–0 Crewe". BBC Sport.
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11. (8 May 2004). "Stockport 2–3 Barnsley". BBC Sport.
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13. (23 November 2004). "Colchester United 4–1 Mansfield Town". Stagsnet.
14. (6 March 2005). "Football: Mansfield 1 Shrewsbury 1". The Sunday People.
15. (28 May 2005). "ALEX NEIL JOINS HAMILTON". Stagsnet.
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21. (15 September 2007). "Hamilton Acc 4–0 Stirling Albion". BBC Sport.
22. (6 May 2011). "Alex Neil agrees new three-year deal with Hamilton". BBC Sport.
23. Graham Speirs. (4 October 2014). "Spiers on Saturday: understanding the Hamilton Accies success story". [[The Herald (Scotland).
24. (6 October 2014). "Long-term strategy buoys Hamilton as Celtic seek immediate answers". [[BBC Sport]].
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27. (9 January 2015). "Alex Neil: Norwich City appoint Hamilton player-manager as boss". BBC Sport.
28. (10 January 2015). "Bournemouth 1–2 Norwich". BBC Sport.
29. "Middlesbrough 0–2 Norwich". BBC Sport.
30. (2 May 2015). "Ipswich and Norwich to meet in Championship play-offs". ITV.com.
31. "Cameron Jerome seals Wembley final for Norwich City as 10-man Ipswich are tamed". The Guardian.
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33. "CLUB STATEMENT: ALEX NEIL LEAVES NORWICH CITY".
34. "Manager Neil sacked by Norwich". BBC Sport.
35. (2017-04-18). "Norwich: Sacked Alex Neil admits to regret over summer recruitment". BBC Sport.
36. (4 July 2017). "Alex Neil: Preston North End appoint ex-Norwich boss as manager". BBC Sport.
37. "Preston part company with boss Neil". BBC Sport.
38. "Alex Neil: Sunderland appoint ex-Norwich and Preston boss as new head coach". BBC Sport.
39. (21 May 2022). "Neil 'proud' as Sunderland start journey back". BBC Sport.
40. (28 August 2022). "Alex Neil: Sunderland boss leaves to become Stoke City's new manager". BBC Sport.
41. (31 August 2022). "Stoke City 1–1 Swansea City".
42. (8 May 2023). "Watford 2–0 Stoke City".
43. (10 December 2023). "Alex Neil departs Potters".
44. (30 December 2024). "Millwall confirm Alex Neil as new Head Coach".
45. (1 January 2025). "Millwall Millwall 0-1 Oxford United". BBC Sport.
46. (4 June 2025). "Alex Neil signs new Millwall contract".
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63. (3 April 2015). "Manager Billy Reid exits Hamilton Accies". BBC Sport.
64. "Hamilton: Results/matches: 2012/13". Centurycomm.
65. "Managers: Alex Neil". Centurycomm.
66. (21 May 2015). "Norwich boss Alex Neil ready for Sky Bet Championship play-off final". Sky Sports.