I have to admit. I was one of the sceptical ones.
Those of you who follow me on Twitter would’ve seen my long rant about the fact we were linked with a 33 year old, player manager with only two years in the job at Hamilton. It felt like the end of the world for me, like we were throwing away our only chance at promotion by gambling it away on an unknown from Scotland.
I seemed to be the minority however, most people seemed optimistic with the move. This confused me at the time but as soon as he was appointed I decided I would give him a shot. I wouldn’t be a true fan if I didn’t because getting on the managers back from day one never ends well.
And I’m glad to say I was wrong about him.
Neil has seemed to breathe new life into the side, given them the confidence that they had at the start of the season. He seems to be a no nonsense manager and knows what he wants. For example, putting Russell Martin at right back was almost a statement, showing that even though Russ has spoken saying that he wants to play centre back, Neil knows his best position is at right back and will play him there. This is unlike what Adams seemingly did and consistently put Russ at centre back even though we have better defenders at the club, and leaving Whittaker at right back leading to more defensive frailties.
In interviews Neil seems calm and collected. For someone with as little experience as he shows no signs of stress or nervousness. Without prior knowledge you’d have thought that Neil had been a manager for years instead of the two he’s only been as one.
I have to say that I am very impressed by the new boss. For once the club have exceeded expectations with their managerial choice. A lot of comparisons have been made with old boss Paul Lambert, which may be so, with Jake Humphrey saying that a current City player said it was like having Lambert back. Although things are not going well at Aston Villa for the old boss someone like him is what we needed.
So promotion looks to be back on track. Lets just hope that Neil can keep the lads spirits up and continue the form till May. Because even after all I said before, I believe if we go up the sky’s the limit with him.
