Norwich get back in the big time

Norwich 2 Middlesbrough 0: Manager Alex Neil refused to get carried away after guiding Norwich back into the Premier League and securing a £130 million (€183 million) promotion jackpot with a 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Wembley which continued his own meteoric rise in the dugout.

Almost 12 months ago to the day, it was Neil who masterminded Hamilton’s promotion to the Scottish Premiership, and following his appointment in January the unheralded Scotsman has presided over a remarkable run which took the Norfolk club back into the top six and culminated in what was a comfortable victory over Boro in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final, with first-half goals from Cameron Jerome and Nathan Redmond.

Despite the magnitude of the achievement in such a short space of time, with 17 victories from 25 games, the 33-year-old intends to stay grounded.