Football
Millwall Name Former Stoke City And Preston Boss Alex Neil As New Head Coach
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Ex-Preston North End, Sunderland and Stoke City manager Alex Neil has been appointed head coach at Millwall on a ‘long-term’ deal.
Neil, 43, was last in charge of Stoke after taking over in August 2022. However, he has been out of work since he was sacked by the Potters a year ago.
The Scottish manager guided Norwich to the Premier League with Norwich in 2015. He takes over at the Den after Neil Harris left earlier in December.
Neil watched on as Millwall drew 0-0 at Frank Lampard’s Coventry City on Sunday. The Lions remained 13th in the Championship thanks to that point.
Steve Gallen, Millwall’s director of football, described Neil as having “exciting ideas” and “proven methods”.
On the club’s website, Gallen said: “Ultimately, Alex has an excellent track record in the Championship for results and development of young talent, as well as many other attributes that we feel confident will drive us forward as a club.”
The new boss will take charge of his first match when the Lions host Oxford United on New Year’s Day.
Our new Head Coach.#Millwall pic.twitter.com/n1GapRC69h
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) December 30, 2024
Millwall Appoint Alex Neil Following Harris Departure
Harris left his second stint as Millwall manager with the Lions 11th in the table. He announced his departure in early December, with the club having gone winless in four matches.
They have since beaten promotion hopefuls Blackburn, but were beaten 2-1 by Norwich on Boxing Day. With one win in nine games, Alex Neil s a club performing well below expectation.
But he is not without experience. Neil took Norwich to the Premier League via the playoffs almost a decade ago. He then departed Carrow Road in 2017 as the Canaries dropped back down to the Championship.
Neil then ed Preston, and spent four years at the Lancashire club before being sacked.
In 2022, he helped Sunderland win promotion from League One, before ing Stoke the following season. Assistant coach Martin Canning has also ed Millwall, having worked with Neil at Stoke and Sunderland.
Speaking after his appointment, Neil said: “The opportunity was a great one for me.
“I think it’s very much similar to when I went in at Preston, going into a good environment.
“It’s not as if there are huge problems. The team wasn’t struggling and I had to go in and develop a style of play, maybe bring some of the younger players through, so I see this as a very similar project to what I did there.”