Neil not looking at future as he rues Sunderland defeat
Norwich boss Alex Neil was non-committal over his future after presiding over the club’s relegation from the Barclays Premier League. Nathan Redmond inspired a 4-2 win over Watford at Carrow Road, but it was too little, too late for the Canaries, who returned to the Sky Bet Championship 12 months after coming up through the play-offs. Sunderland’s victory over Everton rendered Norwich’s ninth win of the season – and third in 17 games – irrelevant as Neil’s side joined Newcastle and Aston Villa in being demoted. “My future doesn’t really concern me at this moment in time,” Neil said. “I’m really disappointed and gutted that the club’s gone back down to the Championship and that we didn’t manage, under my management, this season to keep the club in the Premier League. “A lot has happened in the last week. At this moment I’m just trying to come to terms with what’s happened on the pitch and where we find ourselves. “I want to sit down with the owners (Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones) and have a good chat with them. “There’s a lot of soul searching and discussions to be had to decide which way the club is going to move forwards.”
The Canaries ended a fourmatch scoreless run with goals from Redmond, Dieumerci Mbokani – who scored twice and a Craig Cathcart own goal.
Since a 3-2 defeat of Newcastle on April 2, Norwich had lost four straight games, including 3-0 at home to Sunderland.
Neil rued the fact his side performed when it was too late.
“It would’ve been a better performance if it had been against Sunderland when it mattered,” he added.
“The Sunderland game was a game where we had it in our own hands and we could’ve put it to bed really and we didn’t.”
Liverpool striker Christian Benteke snatched an added-time equaliser as Jurgen Klopp’s managerial magic continued at Anfield with a late 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
Up to that point the visitors appeared set to register their third successive Anfield victory as a rejuvenated Eden Hazard scored his fourth goal in as many matches.