Alex Neil has no time for the 'sideshow' surrounding management - insisting that all fans care about is winning. Neil leads Sunderland into the play-offs tonight, with his side set to take on Sheffield Wednesday at the Stadium of Light in the first leg of their semi-final, with the winners going through to face either MK Dons or Wycombe in the final at Wembley later this month.
Since taking over in February with the club heading in the wrong direction in the table and in danger of missing out on the play-offs, Neil has steadied the ship and steered the Black Cats into a fifth-place finish - in the process earning the respect of supporters, many of whom were mutinous in the period just before he took the reins. Neil knows that opinion can shift quickly, however, and that ultimately he must produce results.
"I'm not bothered about being popular," he said. "In terms of popularity, some people will not like you because of the way you look, or because of how you say a certain word a certain way, or just because they don't like you!
