Millwall agree deal for Alex Neil to be new head coach
Millwall have agreed a deal for Alex Neil to be their new head coach.
The 43-year-old is set to be confirmed in the post by the start of next week with his first match a home fixture against Oxford United at The Den.
David Livermore has been in caretaker charge since Neil Harris quit earlier this month.
Livermore has been told that he will still have a backroom post after the Lions fill their vacancy.
Neil, Wycombe Wanderers’ boss Matt Bloomfield and Steve Schumacher, who has managed at Plymouth and Stoke City, were all on the shortlist for the job in South London.
Neil has been out of work since being sacked by Stoke City in December 2023.
He has won promotions with Hamilton Academicals, Norwich City and Sunderland since moving into management. He led the Canaries into the Premier League in 2015 via the play-offs but was unable to prevent them coming straight back down.
Neil has also bossed Preston North End and was at their match on Boxing Day, a 1-0 victory over Hull City.
Livermore, who has been Harris’ number two during nearly the entirety of his managerial career, will be at the helm for tomorrow’s trip to Coventry City.
Millwall are 13th in the Championship after their 2-1 loss at Norwich on Boxing Day.
Neil has managed 467 matches at five clubs, with his first posting at Hamilton in April 2013.
He did an interview in May in which he talked about sizing up his next challenge. Neil said: “Obviously, I’ve been on a few holidays since I left Stoke and had time to reflect – as you do.
“Every club you work at is very, very different – they are not even similar. Honestly, even the structure of things and how you report to people. And what happens is, when you walk into any club people try and paint an understanding of the situation the club is in.
“But, every club you walk into, when you lift the bonnet up and look under it, you think: ‘Oo, right, ok, it’s a little bit different than what I thought’. And then, you’ve got to try and make the best use of what you’ve got – and try win as many games as you can. But yeah, for me, I’ll just look for the next challenge and see what comes up over the summer, or into next year.
“I want to get… to be honest, I’d like to try and recreate what I had at Preston for those years – in terms of having a squad I really enjoy, having players that are hungry, want to make their way and want to achieve. You don’t come across it very often, but I was fortunate I managed to walk into the right changing room at the right time. I’d like to try and do that again.”
PICTURE: ALAMY