Is Stoke City's new manager Alex Neil a right fit for the club?

Alex Neil spoke at a press conference today ahead of his first match as Stoke City's manager

Alex Neil will enter the Stoke City dugout for the first time as their manager on Wednesday when the team host Swansea.

The 41-year-old Scotsman and former Sunderland boss was appointed the Potters' new manager on Sunday, after Micheal O’Neill’s departure. 

In his first press conference in the job, Neil was asked why he chose to join Stoke from Sunderland given the start to the season that both sides have had.

He said Stoke City was a good fit for him and spoke about his plans to see the club promoted: “My ambitions are for Stoke to get back to the Premier League."

“The simple fact is that we have got owners here that put everything they have got into the team and into the club." 

“My job is to make sure that I come here and fix what needs fixing for them and make sure that we give them a really competitive team on the pitch and that we are competing and challenging to get out of this league."

“We want to utilise the players the best we can. We have got some really good players here that are very good going forward."

“My job is to make sure that when fans come and watch Stoke team, that the lads leave everything on the pitch, they couldn’t have done any more and you can relate to the team." 

“If you can relate to the team, you will back the team and if you can back the team you will support the team, you'll believe in the team and you will create a good culture among the club and everybody will be backing the players, the players will be backing themselves and backing each other.”

Neil will be hoping to make Stoke his second promotion win after leading Norwich City back to the Premier League in 2015.

He has also had spells at Preston North End and Scottish Premiership side Hamilton Academicals.

He said, “You have requirements as a manager and you’ve got what happens on the pitch and what happens off the pitch when you’re a manager at football and what happened on the pitch at Sunderland was superb and the players, the staff and the fans deserve all the credit for that."

"I think we have very talented players. Talent is a secondary thing behind hard work for me and I think if we can get talented players working really hard, working together, working in a functional group that balances each other out then that's where we will gain success."

“Now stoke want to push on and my track record suggests that I have done that before.”

Stoke kick off against Russell Martin’s Swansea City side on Wednesday at 7.45pm.