Alex Neil was sacked by Norwich because he clashed with Delia Smith and the rest of the board over the future direction of the club
One of the main sticking points was Neil's insistence that star Wes Hoolahan should be sold - but he was only just given a new contract
ALEX NEIL was sacked by Norwich after rows with the club’s board – but it was NOT due to the club’s disastrous form.
Gary Rowett, Alan Pardew and Mark Warburton all want the job and a new structure will be announced next week.
The Canaries, relegated from the Premier League in the summer, have completely slipped away from the play-off zone during a nightmare season.
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Yet Neil was dismissed after finding himself at loggerheads with majority shareholder Delia Smith and the rest of the club’s board over rebuilding for the future this summer and the changes which needed to be made.
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The former Hamilton boss, who took the club to promotion in 2015, wanted to axe a string of players in the summer including Irish club legend Wes Hoolahan who only signed a new deal after Euro 2016.
But the board were also concerned by a string of terrible signings by Neil such as Steven Naismith from Everton, while he has also failed to get the best out of former Spurs midfielder Alex Pritchard.
The Scotsman, who has become increasingly unpopular with the club’s fans, will now receive a £2million pay-off – two years’ money – following a secret contract handed after relegation exclusively revealed by Sunsport.
Despite the problems following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Bristol City and his series of meetings with the board, Neil still took training yesterday morning and gave no indication that he was in trouble. He also staged a lunchtime press conference and spoke about today’s game and admitted he needed to make changes in the summer.
His assistant Alan Irvine will take charge of the team for today’s clash with Blackburn and the new replacement will have a title of head coach and a director of football will be appointed.
Former Birmingham boss Rowett would be a popular choice while Pardew is more experienced. Ex Rangers chief Warburton got down to the final interviews in January 2015 but Neil was preferred.
Ex England boss Roy Hodgson is a close friend of Smith but at this stage, is unlikely to be interested.
