Alex Neil has given his most open appraisal of his contentious departure from Sunderland yet, claiming that it was due to the club’s refusal to offer him a new contract following promotion to the Championship.

Neil left to join Stoke City shortly after the Championship season began, stating that he felt’really desired’ by the Potters. Neil would finally agree to a new agreement with Sunderland later that summer on Wearside, but neither party revealed it as discontent grew.

Speaking on the #EFLdebate with Gab Sutton, Neil stated that he did not want to leave Sunderland, but that the contract process over the summer revealed that the club did not believe he could remain their manager in the long term.

“I think there’s been a lot said about and the last thing I ever wanted to do was throw fuel on the fire,” he was quoted as saying.

“Many individuals claimed things about me that were entirely false. The most important thing at that moment was that we had just been promoted… let me give you an example: you recruit a striker, he signs a contract, scores 20 goals, and you are promoted, and then he shows up on your day and begs for a contract. You try your best to meet his wants, don’t you? We’d just got promoted after a few years of trying, and anyone who doubted my commitment to Sunderland at the time is insane because I wanted to be there. As soon as we were promoted, I wanted to begin negotiations about extending my stay, getting a better deal, and being a part of what the club was going to be moving ahead – that was where I saw my future. The truth is that, as far as they were concerned, I had signed my contract, and that was the contract that I was on. To me, that did not demonstrate any trust in me or security in terms of, ‘we want you to be the one to carry us ahead in the next several years’. That was the driving force behind everything that occurred after that.”

Neil also mentioned that there were some disparities in recruiting during his tenure at the club, and that he believes the current squad is suffering from a lack of expertise in some areas. He also stated that he was well informed of the club’s plan upon arrival, therefore there were no broken promises on that front.

“The one thing I’ll say about Sunderland is, there’s no promises about them signing this 30-year-old or this 32-year-old,” he remarked.

“So there was never any doubt when I came in that they wanted to invest in developing players; there were some debates about how younger players could thrive, and you did need excellent senior players around then. That was a frequent topic of conversation; in my opinion, they are now lacking in experience; they are highly gifted despite their youth. I feel you need some experience surrounding it, and I believe the squad I joined in Sunderland had the ideal mix. You had so many young players, but Luke O’Nien, Alex Pritchard, and Corry Evans were just as vital.”

Neil is allegedly willing to returning to the club as they continue their hunt for Michael Beale’s replacement after being fired by Stoke City earlier this year.

Watch the complete interview, including a discussion of his time on Wearside, here.

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