Denial, anger, acceptance. When Alex Neil was on the verge of leaving Sunderland to take over at Stoke City in August, the initial reaction on Wearside was one of denial.
Neil was feted as a hero by Sunderland fans after ending the club's four-year stay in League One purgatory by leading it to promotion via the play-offs at Wembley just three months earlier. Why would he leave?
Why would he go to Stoke? Why couldn't a club like Sunderland convince him to stay?
