Birmingham City ‘have negotiations’ with three-time promotion-winning boss

According to The Telegraph, Birmingham City has held initial negotiations with former Stoke City manager Alex Neil about their open management position.

Tony Mowbray stood down on Tuesday to focus on his recovery from sickness, and the Blues are now looking for their fourth manager during the Knighthead era. Garry Cook, the Blues’ CEO, and Craig Gardner, the club’s technical director, are leading an early-stage search.

Neil, 42, is a legitimate prospect, having already received three promotions in his managing career. He led Sunderland to promotion through the League One play-offs in 2022 before joining Stoke City the following summer.

Neil gained promotion to the Premier League with Norwich City in 2015, after guiding Hamilton to the Scottish top division the previous year. In addition to Hamilton, Norwich, Sunderland, and Stoke, Neil served four years as manager of Championship club Preston North End.

The Scot attended the Blues’ match against Middlesbrough at St Andrew’s in March and is among those interested in the position. His final position at Stoke didn’t go as planned, and he was fired in December when the Potters were 20th in the league.

Neil has handled 466 matches since taking over as Hamilton coach 11 years ago, with a 41.42 percent victory rate.