Alex Neil has been sacked by Championship strugglers Stoke City two years after he was considered as a replacement for Steven Gerrard at Scottish giants Rangers.
Back in 2021, when Gerrard was about to leave Ibrox for Aston Villa, Rangers drew up a wide-ranging list of potential successors (The Times).
Frank Lampard, Gerrard’s old England partner, was on it. Ditto Sean Dyche, Derek McInnes and, the man who would eventually get the nod, Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Alex Neil, meanwhile, always felt unlikely at the time and, two years on, it’s difficult to imagine the 42-year-old Scotsman earning a place on such shortlists again any time soon.
Rangers looked at Alex Neil back in 2021
Neil’s reputation is certainly not what it was.
When then-Premiership champions Rangers showed an interest, Neil was looking for a new challenge after an impressive stint at Preston North End, turning an often underachieving side into one capable of challenging for the play-offs in England’s second tier.
Stoke City would have been hoping for similar results when they handed the reigns to Neil – hired by The Potters in August 2022 – but the fact that the Airdrie-born tactician finds himself without a job once again a year-and-a-half later should make it pretty clear that a repeat of those Preston heroics was not forthcoming in Staffordshire.
“When people describe it as a lonely place being a manager, that game probably epitomised it,” Neil sighed on Saturday, Stoke’s 1-0 home defeat to relegation favourites Sheffield Wednesday proving to be the final straw (BBC Sport).
“When you’re doing well and you’re winning games – and I’ve been fortunate enough to experience that in my career – everybody is with you. Everybody’s part of it, everybody feels as if they’ve put something towards it.
“When it’s (different), and it has been like that in the last three matches, you’re on your own.”
Scot sacked by Stoke City
Neil leaves Stoke in 20th place, with just six wins from their 20 league matches.
North of the border, the current Ibrox incumbent Philippe Clement has Rangers just five points adrift of Old Firm rivals Celtic at the top of the table after Brendan Rodgers’ side suffered a shock defeat away to Kilmarnock.
