Alex Neil’s Norwich, at the moment, lie at the fourth position in the Championship. Just asked anyone who encountered Alex Neil to expound him and chances are one word which will spring to their lips, which means a swagger. People who know the manager of Championship club Norwich all appear to have gleaned the same initial impression that he denotes a man clad with an iron confidence and self-belief, which exudes a conviction as well as confidence that you would never necessarily expect from a 33-yeard old coach a few weeks into his initial full-time coaching posting.

It has been known as a trait to all gaffers’ need, without a doubt, yet it may bring about an inherent risk for the whole team. Just after one and a half year as player-manager at Hamilton Academy during which they gained a promotion to the Scottish Premiership, Neil got a transfer to Carrow Road in January, and there was a degree of specticism among his new squad. Because of where he came from and his age, some players were rather cautious. That was what Russell Martin said to the Daily Record with an admirable degree of diplomacy. As a matter of fact, there were a number of players in the Norwich squad that were not impressed that a man merely a couple of years older than are they and without real pedigree at all would be a sort of bossing around them.

Nevertheless, Neil’s approach, method, and strategy, won them round. Martin said that Neil has taken the right decision toward the squad “by the scruff of the neck”. Neil puts forward himself as being compulsively honest with his men in the squad. People often too worried about not making anybody upset, said Neil, even though he denied that he was a screamer and shouter. No matter whatever he is, Neil has appeared as a success. He took the team when they were seven in the competition table, which was just outside the play-offs. This was not a bad showing yet underperforming given the great quality of the squad. Much of the quality retained from their time during the Premier league competition. Neil won his first match against Bournemouth and now has the team at the fourth in the table, just a couple of points off an automatic promotion zone, having been defeated once in 12 games. The squad were in the league where eight points separate the big eight.