Alex Neil has joined Stoke City after waking out on the Sunderland AFC on Friday morning. This is despite signing an improved contract at the Stadium of Light earlier this month, which was bizarrely never announced.
ALS understands that upon hearing of Neil’s desire to leave, the club then offered the Scot another pay rise after a number of unhappy first players approached Kristjaan Speakman and encouraged him to do all he could to get the manager to stay. However, Neil declined this deal and left for Stoke.
Kristjaan Speakman said: “First and foremost, we want to thank Alex for his contribution to Sunderland AFC. The impact he made is clear and he played an integral role in our promotion last season. Despite signing revised terms earlier this month and receiving an offer to further improve his contract on Friday, Alex felt this was an opportunity that he wanted to pursue. We are extremely disappointed by his departure, but we ultimately respect his decision and we wish him well. The process to appoint a new Head Coach is underway and we will provide a further update to our supporters shortly.”
Stoke Chairman John Coates said: “Alex was our number one choice to become our new manager and I’m delighted we have secured his services so quickly. His managerial pedigree is excellent with three promotions already on his CV and we are looking forward to working closely with him to help him realise the ambitions that he and the Club share.”
