Alex Neil has blamed 'off the pitch' factors for his Sunderland exit. Neil left the Black Cats to take over at Championship rivals Stoke City, with the Scot making his decision on Friday ahead of a formal announcement from the clubs on Sunday evening.
At his first press conference as Potters manager this afternoon, Neil was asked about the circumstances of his departure from Wearside and he praised the players, staff, and fans at the club, but pointedly made no mention of those in charge - owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman. Neil said: "There are two facets to being a manager: what happens on and off the pitch.
"What happened on the pitch at Sunderland was superb. Players, staff, fans deserve credit.
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"Other requirements are needed for me to do the job as much as I can and they are better suited here [at Stoke]. It's not fair for me to go into more detail than that."
Neil also praised the Coates family, who own Stoke, adding: "The key thing was ownership. On and off the pitch they give you everything you need to succeed.
"They're widely renowned as being one of the best owners. You want to be accountable for decisions you make and shape things going forward."
And he also addressed the fact that Stoke is closer to his family home than Sunderland. He said: "It's not a defining factor.
"It's not that I've thought, 'That's a nice half hour that I don't need to drive.' The simple fact is that I've travelled wherever I've worked and I've put my heart and soul into every job that I've had.
"I don't cut corners anywhere I go. I make sure everything I've got is dedicated to the club and I do my utmost to try to win games and get myself invested in the team and get the place going.
"That doesn't change depending on if it's around the corner or three hours away."
Neil is known to have felt undervalued at Sunderland given that he took over a team in February that was sliding down the table, and eventually led it to the play-offs and promotion at Wembley. Sunderland handed him a small pay rise in the summer and Neil signed a new deal, but Stoke offered a substantial increase - and even though the Black Cats belatedly offered significantly improved terms, they still fell well short of the contract offered by the Potters.
There were also issues over transfers, with Neil consistently saying the squad was four or five players short of being up to strength, although that was a secondary factor.
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