Neil Touched By Sunderland Tributes
Monday, 30th Mar 2026 12:33 by Kallum Brisset
Town midfielder Dan Neil expressed his gratitude to his former Sunderland teammates and admitted leaving the Stadium of Light was a difficult decision.
Boyhood Sunderland fan Neil joined the Blues on loan in January, but his time on Wearside has come to an end with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.
The 24-year-old is currently embarking on his first spell away from the Black Cats, having chosen to join Town despite alternative reported interest from Rangers, West Ham United and Sheffield United. Over the weekend, Coventry City were reported to be eyeing Neil ahead of the summer window.
Upon his January departure from the Stadium of Light, Neil was inundated with tributes from supporters and players, which he says came as a surprise.
“I’m massively grateful for it, I wasn’t expecting all that,” he said. “It was quite touching, some of the tributes. One of the big ones for me was seeing my ex-teammates or teammates I still had when I was there saying nice things about me.
“Every footballer says the respect you have from your teammates is one of the biggest things that you can pride yourself on. All the tributes were touching, and I really appreciated it all.
“It was a tough decision to make, but one that I’ve made and I’ve come to peace with it. In a way, it was quite a nice way to end, finishing as a big part of getting the club back to where I believed it belonged and I was really happy to do that.
“This season was a little bit different but they’re still doing unbelievably well. It’s a new chapter for me and I’ve come to peace with it quite quickly.”
The Blues’ aim this season is to make an immediate return to the Premier League and secure a third promotion in just four seasons since reaching the top flight from League One just three years ago.
Sunderland were promoted via the play-offs last season, where Neil had the honour of captaining his local side to a dramatic victory in the Wembley final against Sheffield United.
He said: “Our play-off experience was a bit unique with all the last-minute goals. That was a testament to the character of the lads that we had at the time, it was a never-say-die attitude, it was running for each other for 90 minutes. I see a lot of comparisons here with the squad.
“The goal is to get top two, but I'm sure if that isn’t attained and we find ourselves in the play-offs, the lads here will go about it in the exact same way and hopefully win the play-offs if we end up in them.
“That whole season last season was an amazing season from start to finish with a great group of lads. To be given the armband to wear week in, week out, for a club that I’ve supported my whole life was an amazing honour.
“Obviously it ended with an amazing achievement, so I’ll always look back on that season as a fond memory.”
The Wearsiders’ rise did not end there, though, as boss Régis Le Bris has helped guide Sunderland to becoming one of the Premier League’s surprise packages this term.
Asked whether the rate of progression had surprised him, Neil said: “I would say yes, it was a surprise to everybody. People within the club, people outside the club, they’ve deservedly got a lot of praise for the way they’ve gone about it.
“The recruitment over the last few years, even going from League One to the Championship, they probably didn’t get everything right, but the majority of it they did get right, and we were constantly improving, gaining momentum, and they’ve carried that on into the Premier League.
“My minutes lacked and it was something I was disappointed with, but at the same time, we brought in some great midfielders that were doing really well. Every footballer knows you can’t go banging on the manager’s door every week when we’re playing really well.
“As a Sunderland fan myself, I was happy to see the club progressing and being really competitive in the Premier League.
“It was obviously bittersweet. I would have liked to have played more, but I'm also happy to see the club moving in the same direction, which is the right direction.”
Despite his limited time on the field, Neil was handed the honour of making his Premier League debut as a late substitute in a home draw with Aston Villa in September.
The midfielder says that appearance has made him even hungrier to succeed at Portman Road, where he hopes to live his dream of playing regularly in the top flight.
“It just feels you to get back there and want to play there again in the Premier League,” he said. “You’re thinking about it so much growing up as a kid, your goal is to play in the Premier League.
“Getting that sniff of a few minutes of Premier League football is a massive motivating factor and why I came here, because the top two and promotion push presents you with a chance to do that.”
Although Neil is still one of the youngest players in the Blues’ squad, he arrived in Suffolk with a wealth of Championship experience, having played the bulk of matches in each of the last three seasons.
In total, the former England youth international made 131 Championship appearances and a further five in the play-offs prior to joining Town in January.
He said: “We had such a young team at Sunderland. I found myself as a senior head in there because of the amount of games I’d played. It’s really helped, there’s been a lot of ups and downs in that time that I’ve played in the Championship, but loads of lessons learnt.
“The Championship is such a hard division because literally anyone can beat anyone. You have to be on it for 46 games of the season, and if you’re not on it for one, you have to make sure you’re on it for the next.
“That is the beauty of the Championship as well, even if you’ve had a bad result, there’s always a game just around the corner for you to react.
“I’ve learnt a lot over my time in the Championship and I hope to pass a bit of it on.”
Photo: TWTD
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