Fulham FC — Fulham v Southampton — 6 January 2018

37

Wimbledon at home,”

he recalls. “We knew if

we got the same result

as Manchester City we’d

stay up. City came back in

the second half to draw 2-2 with

Liverpool and they were keeping

the ball in the corner thinking

that was enough.

“In my second season we played

Aston Villa away and we had to

match Sunderland’s result, who

were up against Wimbledon at

Selhurst Park. If we drew we

were safe. We lost 1-0 but we

still stayed up. At Fulham it was

a different pressure; we were

expected to win every game. They

were both fantastic times for

different reasons.”

Now retired, Neilson is at

Norwich City as an academy

coach. Staying in the game was

always on the agenda. “I started

doing my badges when I was at

Luton,” he says. “I retired at 32

and the good thing about that was

that I still played part-time in

non-League while I was doing my

badges. It’s totally different - I’m

still learning now. I learned a lot

from Jean Tigana at Fulham. He

was in the Arsene Wenger mould;

the things he brought in were

five or 10 years ahead of his time.

I was the fittest I’ve ever been.

I’ve taken some of that into my

coaching career now.

“I’ve been a caretaker manager,

a first-team coach, an assistant

coach. And I still come back to

Fulham from time to time with

Norwich’s Under-18s. It’s always

great going back to Motspur Park.”

So, what’s next for Neilson the

coach? Did he get the first-team

bug when acting as caretaker for

Luton? “We won five and drew

one in my six-game spell, but

when I came in on the Monday

after it’d finished I had the best

night’s sleep I’d ever had!” he

laughs. “You’re always thinking

about it, but I enjoyed the

pressure. Now I’m focusing on

helping players get into the first

team. But you never know what’s

around the corner.”

Alan has obvious affection

for both teams playing today.

And he believes it could be

another two-part classic. “I think

it’ll be a draw,” he concludes.

“Southampton will use their

squad and Fulham will go to win.

And I’ll stick my neck out and

say Fulham to win on penalties

in the Replay!”

The Ex-Files

Alan Neilson

“I learned a lot from Jean

Tigana at Fulham. The things

he brought in were five or 10

years ahead of his time”

FFC-034-Ex-File-Southampton.indd 37 04/01/2018 12:14