Dan Neil has set his sights on ending Rangers' trophy drought after helping Sunderland awaken from their 'sleeping giant' slumber. The 24-year-old midfielder, who captained the Black Cats to promotion to the Premier League last season, completed a summer switch to Glasgow and is determined to bring silverware back to Ibrox.
From Sunderland promotion to Rangers ambition
Neil played a key role in Sunderland's rise from League One to the Premier League, culminating in promotion last season after an eight-year exile from the top flight. Despite losing his place following the £13million signing of Granit Xhaka, he takes pride in his contribution. Now at Rangers, he aims to replicate that success.
Rangers' recent struggles
Rangers have won just one league title in the last 15 years and finished third last season after a disastrous end-of-season collapse. With new boss Derek McInnes in charge, Neil hopes to fulfil the dreams of the club's supporters.
Neil said: “When I broke through at Sunderland, they were in League One and the Championship. We were 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.”
Choosing Rangers
Neil described Sunderland as a 'sleeping giant' but noted the difference in projects: “Rangers are in the top division so it’s slightly different — but I can understand what you mean in terms of Rangers wanting to get back to winning silverware and Sunderland wanting to get back to the Premier League. It was an unbelievable journey helping Sunderland get back to the Premier League and I’m looking forward to this new journey.”
Delayed move to Ibrox
Rangers first showed interest in January, but Neil joined Ipswich on loan instead due to loan restrictions at Sunderland. After his Sunderland deal expired, he signed a three-year contract with Rangers. Explaining the delay, Neil said: “Yeah, it was pretty close earlier this year. I’d spoken to the club midway through last season. There was a slight issue in terms of loans, the club 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. I loved my time there. It was a successful end to the season but when the interest was reignited in the summer I was pretty set on where I wanted to go.”
