Sunderland AFC appoint Alex Neil as new head coach

Alex Neil has been appointed as the new head coach of Sunderland AFC.

The 40-year-old has agreed a rolling 12-month contract and he will be joined at the Stadium of Light by Assistant Head Coach Martin Canning.

Neil oversaw the team’s final pre-match preparations at the Academy of Light on Friday morning and will take charge of his first game on Saturday when Sunderland travel to AFC Wimbledon.

The team have been on the hunt for a new head coach after Lee Johnson was sacked last week, and various names had been floated including former manager Roy Keane.

However, talks between Keane and the Black Cats broke down in last 24 hours, leading to the Irishman turning the job down.

Neil was most recently the manager of Preston North End, leaving the club by 'mutual consent' in March last year.

In 2015, he secured promotion for Norwich from the Championship to the Premier League - a short-lived victory, as they were relegated after a single season, with Neil leaving the club not long after.

Sunderland have been chasing promotion since landing in League One four seasons ago - and the Black Cats will be hoping Neil can work that promotion magic, and get the team back on form and in the automatic promotion places.

Neil said: “It is a privilege to be Head Coach of Sunderland AFC. Everything that I saw from the players this morning made me really confident and gave me belief, so what we now need to do is replicate that on a matchday – when it matters – under scrutiny and under pressure. Our task is to try and win as many games as we possibly can and at this moment in time we are focused on this season and this season alone.”

Kristjaan Speakman added: “Throughout his career, Alex has demonstrated that he can make an immediate and lasting impact. He expressed a clear vision on how he wants to take the team forward, which strongly aligns with our core principals, and we firmly believe that he can influence performances and results in the short term. We are grateful to our supporters for their patience throughout what has undoubtedly been a challenging period and thank Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor for overseeing our first-team programme in the interim. Now, our immediate priority is to support Alex and the team to ensure we deliver promotion this season and reward the faith continuously placed in us by our supporters.”

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