HUTTON ON SAFC, RANGERS & NEIL
Former Sunderland loanee Alan Hutton has spoken about Sunderland's hopes for the season and how our transfer window went. The former Scotland international also discussed Dan Neil's start to life as a Rangers player - the club where Hutton started his career. We spoke to Alan on behaf of NetBet Sport.
NEIL IMPROVING
Dan Neil had a bit of a slow start to life at Rangers having come up from Sunderland. He captained the team for their promotion and Rangers were crying out for leaders, so it always looked a good fit. It has taken him a little bit longer to gel and get to grips with the league than people may have expected, but he’s finding his stride now and we’re seeing the best of him.
TWO GOALS V CELTIC
He’s progressed really well in the last few weeks and he is a big part of the club’s leadership group. He was brilliant against Celtic in his first Old Firm derby, captaining the side. He scored twice, but even aside from the two goals he was brilliant. He really controlled the midfield, which is one of Celtic’s strongest parts of the pitch. He was commanding and organising the team, which is everything you want from a leader. Now it’s about consistency. That is the level he needs to be operating at more or less every week. As long as he can do that, he’ll have a good career at Rangers.
THOUGHTS ON SAFC'S START?
I think it has been an encouraging start to the season for Sunderland. They did well to bounce back after getting beaten by Ipswich on the opening day. They put in a good performance against Arsenal last week and that game could’ve ended very differently had they scored the penalty. They can take confidence from that.
EUROPE STRAIN
The difficulty will be balancing domestic competitions with Europe. It’s not easy playing in the Premier League on Sunday, Europa League Thursday night and then back in the Premier League the next Sunday, with a lot of travelling in between. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle that. They have a relatively young squad and they’ll need to utilise the majority of it to get the balance right. I think if they were to finish mid-table and go deep in the Europa League then the fans would be happy with that.
TRANSFER WINDOW
You always have to analyse your squad every season and work out exactly what you need. They made some good signings over the summer and on deadline day, bringing in Malick Fofana and Kevin Danso, both of whom I really like. You need a good blend. There was a big overhaul in players last summer and they were slightly quieter this time around. I think they’ll be better for that because the players have had time to settle in and gain experience now. I like where they’re at right now. It’s all about stability and building on last season.
