Tony Mowbray has warned his Sunderland players not to get wrapped up in the drama surrounding Alex Neil's return to Wearside as the Black Cats prepare to take on Stoke City this afternoon. Neil left Sunderland at the end of August to take over at Stoke, with both his decision and the manner of his departure infuriating fans who had given him the hero treatment after he led the club out of League One and back into the Championship in his six-month spell in charge.
Neil is set for a hot reception when he brings his Potters team to the Stadium of Light, but Mowbray wants his team to concentrate on the game rather than the occasion. "I'm emotionally detached from it, to be honest," said Mowbray.
"I can understand it - I've been a manager who has left clubs, although it was probably different the way that Alex left. He had had huge success here and the team had been doing great and I'm sure all the players thought really highly of the coach, and then one day he upped and left and it will be difficult for the supporters to understand.
