Kevin Phillips admits he knows the pull a club like the Light Blues can have
07:00, 11 Jul 2026
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Dan Neil(Image: Luke Nickerson/Rangers FC/Shutterstock)
The prospect of playing for Rangers was certainly tempting.
In the end, Kevin Phillips decided he couldn’t resist the pull of the Premier League. But the Sunderland legend can certainly understand why Dan Neil has been drawn to Ibrox.
After all, he gave serious consideration to making the move north himself. It’s 27 years since the former England frontman helped fire the Black Cats to promotion to the top flight in England.
From there, he went on to notch an incredible 70 goals over four seasons to earn himself a place in the club’s hall of fame.
But when the time came to wave goodbye to Wearside in 2003, Phillips had a decision to make.
Then Gers boss Alex McLeish recruited Phillips’ old Sunderland pal Alex Rae in a bid to lure the frontman north.
Ultimately, the gifted poacher decided he wasn’t done in the Premier League and went on to make almost 150 further appearances in the toughest league on earth, turning out for Southampton, Aston Villa, Birmingham and Crystal Palace before finally retiring aged 41.
Neil’s Premier League appearance tally isn’t quite so extensive, despite being the man who skippered Sunderland to promotion only 12 months ago.
A lifelong supporter of the club, he dreamed of being the man to lead his boyhood heroes out after ending a eight-year top-flight exile.
Cruelly, that ambition was snatched away as the £13m signing of ex-Arsenal ace Granit Xhaka reduced the midfielder to a bit-part role, turning out just three times last season before he was allowed to see out the final six months of his contract on loan at Ipswich.
The 24-year-old could have tried to give it another go in the Premier League having received an offer from Premier League new boys Coventry.
But Phillips believes Neil made the right call when opting to relaunch his career at Ibrox.
He told Record Sport: “Every player who helps a team get promoted to the Premier League and then all of a sudden finds himself sitting on the bench and losing their place is going to fell hard done by.
“But unfortunately, you understand as a player that that's football.
“Xhaka came in and was an inspiration for Sunderland, he's been outstanding so there's no argument in terms of that.
“I felt for Dan and the other players as well, but it's part and parcel of football, you either get your head down and get on with it or you get sold.
“And I think Dan dealt with it in a very, very good way. The club were good to him.
“They sent him out on loan, and now they've let him go.
“And he's gone on to a magnificent football club up in Scotland, a big football club. So hopefully, he can re-kickstart his career again and have a fantastic season.
“Did it ever appeal to me to give Glasgow a try? Yeah, when Alex McLeish was in charge, Alex Rae and I put together a bit of a montage of my goals and sent them up to Big Eck because he wanted to know about me and who I was. And Alex certainly did that for me.
“I wouldn't say I was close to going up there, but I had opportunities to go to Rangers and Celtic at points in my career.
“But I was still playing in the Premier League in England.
“And for me, it's no disrespect to the Scottish football. The Old Firms would have been a great games to play in, but I wanted to stay in the Premier League. And that was the only reason why I didn't go up there.”
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Kevin Phillips during his heyday at Sunderland - he's now a coach at Derby(Image: Daily Mirror)
Philipps may have knocked back the chance to sample the intensity of derby day in Glasgow.
But he’s confident Neil will be relishing those bitter showdowns.
He said: “I’ve been to a couple of Old Firm over the years and the atmosphere is intense. It goes beyond the atmosphere as well, as does the North East Derby.
“Does that Sunderland-Newcastle game come close? Well, if you ask any Sunderland or Newcastle fan, they would say yeah.
“But I think his experience of playing in those clashes will certainly ensure Dan is used to the noise and the passion.. These games in the North East are intense. The atmosphere is incredible.
“And it's the same up there in Glasgow. You would have to say this is probably one of the biggest derbies in the world.
“But I think he'll relish it. He's that type of player. He'll take it on his shoulders, he’ll look forward to it. And if I were in his shoes, I'd be excited about playing in those games.”
Rangers have been on Neil’s scent since January and new Ibrox gaffer Derek McInnes made his capture an immediate priority after taking over last month.
With Nico Raskin, Connor Barron, Mohamed Diomande and Tochi Chuckwuani already competing for slots in the engine room, claiming a jersey won’t be straight forward.
But Phillips reckons McInnes has now found the goalscoring midfielder the Light Blues have badly missed.
Asked to describe his strengths, he said: “Well, he will make a tackle. No shadow of a doubt. He will get stuck in, but that's not what he's renowned for.
“He's more renowned for scoring goals and getting in the box.
“He is a box-to-box player, technically very, very good, can handle the ball in high-pressure situations, and his turnovers, he very rarely loses the ball, and he can travel with it.
"So I think it's going to be more of a technical aspect of his game that he'll bring to the football club. Not that hard crunching, but nevertheless, he still will get stuck in for sure.”
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