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