Before the big day on Saturday Alex Neil went over how he ended up getting the job for the Lads a few months ago, and how grateful he is for it.
GOOD ADVICE
“I think when you’re working, everything feels like it’s a distant memory. You’ve obviously got moments in time when you’re off. I got good advice from people who I’ve worked with before, who are experienced and I’ve known for a long time. A few of them said to me, ‘enjoy your time off because when you get back it’ll be back to full tilt’.”
APPREHENSIVE
“I don’t think you ever enjoy your break, because you’re more apprehensive about what the future holds, where your next potential job may be, how difficult it’s going to be to get in at times. I think there’s been a lot of managers over the years who have done really well somewhere, then struggled to get the next job. So I was just really thankful and hopeful that something would come up.”
THANKFUL
“This job came up out of the blue really, and I was obviously thankful I got the opportunity. I think that spell (out of work) albeit I didn’t enjoy it, it feels like a long time ago now.”
TIME OFF
“I think it is (tough to be out of football). I think the longest I’d been out is leaving Norwich in March, then joining Preston in the June. Literally six weeks, if that. And then the last time was nine months. That’s a long time, nine months.”
GETTING THE JOB
“The job came up because it was released on Sky Sports! I was just sitting, minding my own business and I saw that Lee had left Sunderland. Then it was a case of finding out who they were considering for the job, who they were interested in. Then thankfully the club and myself agreed to talk and speak and see if it was going to be a fit for each other. That was really the conversation. I just said to them ‘Listen, this is what I can do, this is what I’ve done before, this is what I feel I can provide. If this interests you then great, if not then good luck’.”
