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    Sunderland news: Alex Neil set to be appointed as new Black Cats manager

    Planet Sport writerStaff Writer10 February 2022
    Alex Neil

    Alex Neil

    Sunderland are expected to confirm Alex Neil as their new head coach.

    The Black Cats have been forced to look elsewhere after failing to bring primary target Roy Keane back to the club.
    Despite several rounds of discussions, a deal could not be agreed and it is now believed former Norwich and Preston boss Neil has agreed to take over at the Stadium of Light.
    The 40-year-old Scot was one of a series of candidates with whom the club held talks, which also included ex-Hull manager Grant McCann.
    He is set to get the nod to replace Lee Johnson, who was sacked in the wake of last month's 6-0 Sky Bet League One defeat at Bolton.
    Sunderland are yet to confirm Neil's impending arrival but are expected to do so ahead of Saturday's trip to AFC Wimbledon.
    He was sacked by Preston in March last year but had previously guided Norwich to promotion to the Premier League.
    The Black Cats currently lie in fourth place in the third tier, just two points adrift of the automatic promotion places, although they have played four games more than Wigan in second, with leaders Rotherham a further nine points clear.
    Worryingly, they have lost each of their last three matches, the last two under interim boss Mike Dodds to bottom-of-the-table Doncaster and Cheltenham, who had not won in 11 attempts in the league.

    Neil's installation would, however, come amid huge disappointment among fans who had hoped Keane would reprise the role he performed on Wearside between August 2006 and December 2008, when he guided the club out of the Sky Bet Championship into the Premier League and managed to keep them there.

    The former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder departed after his relationship with then-owner Ellis Short soured and last managed in his own right at Ipswich in 2011, although he has coached with Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and the Republic of Ireland in the meantime.

    Legend backs Neil to succeed

    Sunderland hero Michael Gray believes that Alex Neil will be a good replacement for Lee Johnson.

    "He's done a decent job at the clubs that he's been at, at Norwich when he first walked through the door," Gray said to Sky Sports News.

    "Certainly when he went to Preston the supporters got behind him and he did a decent job there as well.
    "He looks enthusiastic, he's young, he looks like he's got that fire in his belly and wants to get back into football as quickly as he possibly can.
    "There is no reason why Alex Neil can't go into Sunderland and do a decent job."

    Read more: Roy Keane the manager - the best stories from his first spell coaching Sunderland

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