Alex Neil must have Stoke City regret as Sunderland stance revealed: View | OneFootball

Sunderland are facing up for a critical few months as they continue their search for a permanent head coach following Michael Beale’s dismissal.

For many reasons, the Black Cats job is a very attractive one, as they are a big club, with huge potential, and they have a squad which is full of talented young players.

So, you would expect plenty of managers to throw their hat into the ring for this one, although it was a surprise to see reports stating that Alex Neil wants to return to the Stadium of Light.

Alex Neil keen on Sunderland head coach job

The Scotsman was named as the Sunderland boss in 2022, inheriting a side that were in the mix to win promotion from League One.

And, Neil became an instant hero on Wearside, as he was the man who took the side back to the Championship.

Yet, despite taking Sunderland up, Neil made the call to leave for Stoke City early in the Wearsiders' first term back in the second tier.

Naturally, that didn’t go down well among the Black Cats’ support, and you can understand why, as they viewed it as a sideways move at best.

Those fans made their feelings clear about Neil when they came up against the Potters, as he was widely booed and subject to fierce criticism.

Now, with the Scot reportedly open to returning to the Stadium of Light, you have to feel he'll regret leaving for Stoke.

Alex Neil’s Sunderland regret

Whilst the Potters had a talented squad on paper, Neil chose to leave Sunderland, who were also in a good place. Plus, they also had momentum and togetherness that he wouldn’t find in Staffordshire.

As a result, Neil was starting on the back foot at Stoke, trying to build a team to compete for promotion, but the building blocks weren’t in place.

In fairness, it should be noted that Neil is by no means the only manager to fail at Stoke, which indicates the problems run deeper at the Bet365 Stadium.

However, that also brings questions about whether the former Norwich boss did his due diligence before jumping ship. From the outside it looked like a rash decision, and that’s how it turned out, with Stoke finishing 16th last season when Sunderland were competing in the play-offs.

We obviously don’t know the dynamics of the relationship between Neil and the key figures at the Stadium of Light, and he may have felt he wasn’t given the support he needed after their promotion.

But, to throw away the goodwill he had built with the fans and the players for a move to Stoke is one Neil surely wouldn’t do if he had the chance again.

Many players and managers make big decisions over their careers, and it’s natural that some won’t turn out the way they want.

For Neil, the call to leave Sunderland was a bold one, and he’s surely wondering what would’ve happened had he remained in the North East.