Alex Neil: Profile of Norwich City manager on brink of Premier League
Wednesday 15 April 2015 23:24, UK
From the Scottish Championship to the brink of the Premier League, who is 33-year-old Alex Neil and what exactly has he done at Norwich?
The Scot is the third youngest manager in the English football leagues behind Wigan’s Gary Caldwell and Mansfield manager Adam Murray and has made an instant impact since he joined the Championship club in January this year.
Don't know much about him? Allow us to fill you in...
Where did he come from?
Neil joined from Hamilton Academical where he had been player-manager since 2013. In his first full season in charge of the Scottish Championship side, he led them to promotion to the Scottish Premiership through the play-offs all from a defensive midfield position.
In his first half-season in the SPFL, he guided the club to third place and boasted a win percentage of 60% that season – 53% overall during his time in charge.
Since Neil left, they have not won a game...
Was Alex Neil’s appointment justified?
Hamilton was the only club he had ever managed and because of that, the inevitable question marks over whether he could manage a big Championship club such as Norwich were raised.
However, since he took charge of Norwich, he has achieved 45 points out of a possible 57. He has a win percentage of 74% compared to Neil Adams, his predecessor, whose record was 42% for the first half of this season.
Norwich now sit in the automatic places - second in the table on 82 points - but they were seventh and 11 points off the top spot when he arrived. They have won their last five games in a row and have only lost one out of their last 10.
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What was he like as a player?
Neil was a tough, no-nonsense defensive midfielder who prided himself on his leadership abilities and aggressiveness on the pitch. He became something of a cult hero during his 10 years playing for Hamilton.
He scored 14 goals over a career spanning 15 years. Before joining Hamilton he played for Airdrie, Barnsley and Mansfield and was player-manager for his last two seasons in Scotland.
However, even as a player he acted as something of a mentor to others, sitting behind James McCarthy and James McArthur in a three-man midfield at one point. Both McCarthy and McArthur now play in the English Premier League.
Who are his best-performing players at Norwich?
Norwich have a number of players who have performed extremely well this season. They have three strikers who have hit double figures for the season – Cameron Jerome, Lewis Grabban and Gary Hooper. Jerome is the top scorer with 18, placing him joint fifth in the Championship.
Creativity from midfield has not been too much of a problem for Norwich since Neil took charge. Wes Hoolahan leads the assist count with 10 and the highly-rated Nathan Redmond has nine.
Neil is unafraid to switch formation when he needs to though, setting his side out in six different formations since he joined.
What do the players say about him?
In March, captain Russell Martin was keen to praise and summarise the work Neil has done since he has been at the club.
He said: "We're back to where we were when Paul Lambert was in charge. We needed someone to grab the place by the scruff of the neck.
“At first, because of where he came from and his age, some of the lads were maybe a bit cautious. But he has impressed everyone because he's a leader.
"He just told us straight that we were good players but were underachieving. Sometimes people don't want to hear things but honesty is the best policy."
What do the experts say?
Speaking on The Morning View, Neil McCann and Brian McDermott were both keen to emphasise the very direct, honest approach Neil has when managing players.
McDermott said: “He’s really hit the ground running. He looks like he’s gone in there and means business.
“He has done a fantastic job. He looks like he knows what this league is all about and knows how to get results and they look like a team with momentum and I can’t see them not getting in the top two now.”
McCann, a member of the Dunfermline coaching staff, agreed and believes that his determination to win came through during his days at Hamilton.
“The one thing about Alex Neil is he has got steel. He doesn’t care who he annoys, he doesn’t care what feathers he ruffles and with a job to do he goes in and he does it,” he said.
“He was terrific at Hamilton. He played in a holding role as a player-manager and sometimes people struggle to do that job – being a player-manager – but Alex didn’t. He understood the job and he met the job head on.”
Will he be in the Premier League next season?
Only time will tell whether Neil can get Norwich into the Premier League. However, his side are the most in-form team in the league right now and if they win their next three games then they are guaranteed promotion.
Their next game is against fellow promotion rivals Middlesbrough - who are just one point behind - on Friday night on Sky Sports. Should Norwich win then automatic promotion looks like a realistic prospect, but it is a huge challenge.
Neil has led an incredible turnaround and may well be looked at by Premier League clubs, even if Norwich fail to get promoted.
