Dan Neil pauses briefly before latching onto a singular word that has been put to him and surmises his move to Rangers perfectly: challenge.
Having captained his boyhood club back to the Premier League and then earned promotion to the top division in England again with Ipswich, there were plenty of offers from clubs south of the border hoping Neil could make it a hat-trick this summer. Indeed, two days before he joined Rangers, the 24-year-old, a free agent this summer, looked set to join Southampton, who thought they had won this race.
Not so. The south coast club can offer a lot, but they cannot compare with Rangers for what Neil says drives him most: pressure, passion, a purpose for turning up and playing every weekend. The ability to make or ruin weekends. Sunderland may not have a history of winning league titles, but they are too big a club to be anywhere but the Premier League, and Neil held the burden of leading his hometown club, with the armband, back where they belong.
“I think that word ‘challenge’ is probably the biggest word in my decision-making,” he says, speaking from the club’s pre-season base in Spain on his move to Ibrox.
“I think the last two years have been very successful in the Championship in England and I wanted a new challenge, a new chapter almost, and a new goal to strive for. When Rangers came calling, I thought, ‘This is the perfect challenge for me,’ and that was pretty much it in terms of my decision-making.
“I’ve played in front of big crowds every week and had that expectation of winning. It’s a massive driving factor for me day in, day out, so all those little factors tallied up to my decision.
“I grew up in that environment in terms of being around a first-team set-up. Sunderland in League One and the Championship are a massive, massive club and shouldn’t really be there, so the demand in those leagues was to win every week and get promoted.
"It’s something that drives me day in, day out, doing things right and preparing as well as I can for upcoming games, knowing that the fans are desperate to win and there’s almost that expectation to win every single week. It’s a massive factor in the way I work every day and the character I am, and I’d say it was a massive factor when I was choosing Rangers.”
Some externally have looked at the top line of Neil’s package, released by Sunderland this summer having not played a part in their Premier League return, as evidence of another player coming north from England looking for an easier ride. Nothing could be further from the truth, here. Neil lost his place to Granit Xhaka and, as Sunderland qualified for Europe they spent over £100m. At 24, he’s on the way up instead of down. Internally, there was such a buzz at this deal getting over the line because, given Neil’s temperament and quality, signing him was always seen as a reach.
Earlier in June, one source told the Rangers Review that the likelihood of landing Neil seemed to be decreasing, despite a charm offensive when he visited Ibrox in May. And, as well documented by now, the club have surmised following last summer that personality is as vital as quality in their recruitment process.
Neil adds: “I think you can see in the recruitment this summer that [getting the right characters] is a big priority. The signings we’ve made so far have all had leadership roles at the clubs they’ve been at. It was mentioned in interviews I’ve had, but I think it’s just a natural thing that I bring, and it’s the same with the boys who’ve come in. It’s not something we’re going to do out of the ordinary; it’s just a natural ability we have and we have to try and bring that into this group as much as we can.
“It’s only been a week or two and obviously Shanks [Shankland] has just joined us on the trip after being at the World Cup. It’s going to take a few weeks for everyone to bed in and that’s what pre-season is for. But from the first few days with most of the boys, there’s enough there for it to be something like that. As you said, leadership, voices and profiles are in the group now.”
Neil’s name had been linked publicly with a move to Rangers for the best part of a year and, in another world, he would have joined in January if loan regulations at the Stadium of Light hadn’t stopped him.
“Yeah, [a move] was pretty close in January. I’d spoken to the club midway through last season. There was a slight issue in terms of loans: Sunderland had a lot of players out on loan abroad, so unfortunately it wasn’t going to work for a loan until the end of the season. That’s why I decided to stay in England and go to Ipswich, and I loved my time there. It was a successful end to the season, but when the interest was reignited in the summer [from Rangers], I was pretty set on where I wanted to go.”
Neil describes himself as a midfielder who wants as many touches of the ball as possible. He should be a profile that dictates things and provides a lynchpin in possession, which has been missing for years.
“In terms of the in-possession stuff, I want as many touches of the ball as I can get in a game. I want to go forward with the ball, I want to progress the team forward. One of the things people probably don’t know or don’t see or don't hear is that I’m quite loud on the pitch in terms of communication and organising, and I like seeing the game from a tactical point of view. I’m pretty loud on the pitch. In terms of my actual football, it’s about getting on the ball as much as I can and trying to dictate the tempo and progress the team forward.”
Goals haven’t been a defining feature of his game in recent years, although that is more a facet of his role in the system than a lack of willingness to spring forward.
“I definitely think it’s something I can bring. I probably haven’t shown that side of my ability over the last few years, but I think that’s been down to systems. Sunderland were a very young team, so even though I was still young, I had to take more of an old-head approach in midfield, almost letting the kids go and express themselves. But I think it added another strength to my bow and I learned how to play that disciplined role in midfield. I still believe I can contribute at the top end of the pitch. We’ll keep working on it every single day and try to bring it out on matchdays.”
Four summers ago, Neil played a pre-season game against Rangers in Portugal that only lasted 45 minutes due to a floodlight fault. That memory brings a smile. There are no current players from that team under Giovanni van Bronckhorst. As represented by James Tavernier’s exit last season, this is a new era, a new team, a new leadership group.
“In terms of the support that day, they pretty much filled the stand with Rangers fans and made a hell of a lot of noise for 45 minutes. It was good, and I’ve watched a million Rangers games on the telly and all the Old Firm games, so I can see how big the support is. I can imagine when Ibrox is full it’s absolutely bouncing and I’m looking forward to playing for them.”
Read more:
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- Why Rangers signed Dan Neil: Southampton usurp, inside move and fixing a common issue
If it's pressure Neil is after, if it’s an obligation to a support, the ability to make or break dreams, then he’s in the right place. He has worn the captain's armband in pre-season as McInnes gets ready to appoint Tavernier's successor. Many before Neil have failed in the task of making Rangers winners again, but that hasn’t stopped him from running after it. He's ready for the challenge.
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