Alex Neil walked out on Sunderland to join Stoke, throwing their Championship campaign into turmoil.
The Scot took training with Sunderland’s squad ahead of their clash with Norwich on Saturday, then held a meeting with players to tell them he was leaving. He then left the Academy of Light and drove to Stoke to finalise his contract. Doubts over Neil’s Wearside future had simmered all week.
Sean Dyche is the fans favourite to take over, but he will have to take a huge pay cut from his £5m a year Burnley days to take the job. The Scot led Sunderland to Wembley play off victory in May, after reviving their promotion prospects after taking over in February. But he was only on a one year rolling deal that was not revised this summer leaving the Mackems vulnerable to an approach from a rival.
This week Sunderland signed Jewison Bennette from the Costa Rica league, a deal Neil is not thought to have had much say in, amid other concerns over signings. Sunderland will now also have to fight off interest in striker Ross Stewart from Rangers now the Scottish giant has qualified for the Champions’ League.
Sunderland cancelled their pre match press conference at 9am and another scheduled for 2pm in a chaotic day and released a statement which read: “Sunderland AFC can confirm that Alex Neil has entered into discussions with Stoke City regarding their current managerial vacancy.
"Following a formal approach by SCFC, the Club is contractually obliged to permit the Head Coach to start a dialogue with the Potters. The Club is committed to retaining Alex’s services as Head Coach and will be making no further comment at this moment in time.”
But within minutes it was confirmed Neil had landed the Stoke job and was gone, raising huge questions for the club’s hierarchy and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’s handling of their post-promotion summer. A home defeat by Sunderland last weekend ended the reign of Michael O’Neill.
